Climate change has become a global threat. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.
As Kenya joins the world in celebrating the 2023 Environment Day the government has its focus on the National Tree Planting Restoration program. The program, launched in December 2022, aims at planting at least 15 billion trees by 2030.
According to the Ministry of Interior, and the National Government, the eight regions of the country have taken big strides in the tree planting exercise. Eastern Kenya leads with 4,377,362 trees planted in five months followed by Rift Valley with 621,805 seedlings planted in the same period.
The ministry revealed that Nairobi and North Eastern region have recorded the least number of trees planted with 77,168 and 52,478 respectively. This shows that there is laxity in taking the initiative perhaps, because of lack of rains in the North Eastern region which is mostly dry thus unproductive land that cannot support many tree species.
For Nairobi, there is high population and most part of the city is constructed therefore no much land to plant trees and also, people in the city are busy with their ‘office work’ hence they spend much time doing what brought them to the city.
Parts of the country that receive enough rainfall like the Western, Central, Nyanza region among others should be in the frontline in making the environment a better place. These are areas with fertile land which can support tree growth.
The tree planting drive is as a result of the devastating impacts of desertification and climate change. We need to do better than this for us to hit the tag. This issue should be addressed with seriousness.
The government, relevant stakeholders and Kenyans with the information should make the tree-planting campaign successful. We all need to participate in creating awareness and planting more tees to keep our environment safe. It is not about who has contributed to climate change or not, it’s about how we address the issue.
By Matildah Obaigwa