KFS to Plant more trees to boost its Forest Cover
Migori County Forest Conservator Mr. Joseph Wakiaga has said that the County will continue to grow and conserve natural trees and forest plantation to ensure it achieves the 10 percent forest cover.
The Kenya Forest Service officer noted that the county has1400 hectares of public forest but the forest cover was still below 3 percent. He said that KFS will strive to coordinate other stakeholders to ensure the 10 percent forest recover is achieved.
Wakiaga pointed out that the need for agricultural land and expansion of urban centers was the major reason for the low forest and tree cover in the county.
He noted that the KFS will also embark on land regeneration in the vast lands of Nyatike to increase forest cover.
He stated that mining in Nyatike has left lots of land degradation that has become a major cause of soil and water pollution in Lake Victoria.
He however, noted that Migori County does not practice the “Shamba System” mode of farming. The official noted that Samba System is system of raising crops in the forest for the benefits of tree conservation and growth. Wakiaga said that the shamba system is only done in forest plantation but not in the natural forests.
He added that the County will be planting 500,000 trees during this October-December rains in various institutions and government places to boost the forest cover in the county.