By Marline Atieno
Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has said that one billion trees will be planted on Friday.
The CS noted that every adult is encouraged to plant at least 50 seedlings on the National Tree Growing Day gazetted yesterday, and 10 for every child.
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“Until we engage in a situation where we know tree planting is about our lives then we will not move anywhere,” said the CS.
“We have to keep hammering the message that tree planting is crucial, it is about life,” she added.
Kenya has had campaigns on tree planting, such as the Trees Campaign 2006, The Greening Kenya Initiative in 2010, and the Accelerated National Tree Growing Campaign 2022.
Each Cabinet Secretary has set aside a day every month to rally their ministry staff, departments, and agencies as well as host communities around their designated sites to attend to tree growing.
Governors, MPs, MCAs, the private sector, and individual Kenyans young and old have been urged to emulate this strategy.
The CS noted that since the rainfall has subsided, in the coming days, a revamped ecosystem restoration strategy will be rolled out.
Furthermore, this strategy is to be spearheaded by Cabinet Secretaries as part of sustained government efforts to achieve the 15 Billion trees National target before 2032.
Hon. Soipan Tuya joined the members of the Ngong Forest, Bomas Block Community Forest Association(CFA), and Kenya Forest Service staff for a tree-growing exercise Tuesday afternoon.
A delegation was hosted to discuss Kenya’s broad climate action agenda.
The agenda included accelerated restoration of degraded landscapes and ecosystems including the 15 Billion National Tree Growing Programme.
This delegation was held by H.E Tamba John Sylvernus Lamani, Minister for Local Government and Community Affairs.