The Mountain Journal
By Morris Githenya
and Chege Portus
Billions of trees are
planned for planting this year in efforts to address climate change among
other environmental concerns.
Two months after the
2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference -COP 27 in Egypt, Africa,
the leadership of the nations developed their strategies to deal with
climatic change, the majority adopting tree planting, and reducing carbon
emissions in space.
Photo/ Kenya President William Ruto in tree planting in Ngong Forest.
Water Catchment areas
have been earmarked for rehabilitation with a lot of emphasis on major water towers
with Kenya Forest Service (KFS)water companies and administrators setting
the pace.
In Kenya, President
William Ruto celebrated his 56 birthday last month and launched a tree
planting exercise at Ngong forest.
The exercise
will see the planting of 15 billion trees by year 2032, and on the first day,
560,300 trees were planted in the counties. Ruto said the initiative will
help combat the effects of climate change, which has unleashed calamities such
as droughts, floods, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and disease and pest
outbreaks.
“Climate change, he said, has also
burdened other sectors, including health and infrastructure, as well as
disrupting local and international supply chains,” said the President.
Photo/ Kenya President William Ruto in tree planting in Ngong Forest.
An Environmentalist in the Mt Kenya region
Peter Muchiri said there was a need by the nations to enact laws that will
guide tree plantation, in efforts to address the environmental concerns.
Muchiri said in the
recent past, a lot of efforts have been made towards conservation efforts in
the world, and in these summits, resolutions have been made and, our country
has been enjoined in these resolutions.
Muchiri told The
Mountain Journal that a major campaign towards environmental conservation in
our country is massive tree planting which faces a number of setbacks.
“ The environmental summits are necessary, but we should
customize our solutions towards our own challenges,” Muchiri observed.
Photo/ Pupils in a tree planting exercise in Kenya.
Major setbacks
affecting the Lack of a calendar of events including environmental campaigns,
* Lack of goodwill
from the local leadership regarding environmental conservation.
* Trees are just part
of the solution but not entirely the solution e.g. Scientists estimate that
roughly half of the oxygen production on earth comes from the ocean.
* Lack of inclusive
dialogue among the actors with environmentalists failing to involve
players in the transport sector on carbon emission.
