Kajiado County launches drive to plant two million trees – KBC

Kajiado County is one of the three counties to launch a two million tree planting drive ahead of this year’s devolution conference in August.

The other Counties to launch tree planting drives include Makueni and Machakos.

Governor Joseph Ole Lenku Friday led the Council of Governors, the Ministry of Devolution and the Equity and Kengen Foundations to plant trees at Entarara forest, a water catchment area in Kajiado South.

Governor Lenku and his counterparts Francis Kimemia (Nyandarua), Wilbur Otichilo (Vihiga) and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa took the opportunity to urge other counties to enact Climate Change Action Policies that create the Climate Change Fund which will help finance mitigation responses.

“We have key water catchment areas that need conservation. I urge our people to push our forest cover from our current 7.1% forest cover which we have raised from 3.6%, four years ago,” said Governor Lenku.

Governor Kimemia called for the motivation of forest conservators through stipends and heavy fines for polluters saying we were losing a lot as a country in carbon credit pay outs.

He said Counties that had invested heavily in water catchment areas that were supplying other parts of the country with water should be given a percentage of the accruing profits.

Mr Wamalwa also urged counties to set up the Climate Change Fund to boost the promotion of environmental conservation efforts and raise forest cover to the recommended 10 per cent.

“We have counties like Kajiado who have raised the cover from 3.6% to 7.1% in four years. Sadly, other Counties have 1 %. They need to pull up their socks,” said Mr Wamalwa.

Dr Otichilo, an environmental expert, took the public through the scientific reasons why climate change has caused too much heat on earth.

Governor Lenku said Entarara forest was a hub of medicinal plants and urged those who had encroached on the various river riparian areas on the county to voluntarily leave or risk being evicted.