President should walk his talk on afforestation

On December 21, 2022, President William Ruto launched a nation-wide tree planting campaign with the aim of raising Kenya’s forest cover by 30 percent in 2032.

He introduced an initiative dubbed the National Tree Growing and Restoration campaign which aims to plant 15 bilion trees.

In the initiative, the government says that an individual should plant 30 trees annually and by the end of 10 years, each person will have planted 300 trees.

This is an important move for protecting the future of the planet against the adverse effects of climate change. By hosting the maiden Africa climate change conference in Nairobi, the President projected the image of a leader conscious about the urgent causes of this century. He had become Africa’s face around climate action.

However, the activities of his own government tell a story of a man preaching water and drinking wine on the global stage.

Kenyans have raised concerns that the country is losing mind-boggling acres of forestland disguised as implementation of a regeneration policy as well as construction of infrastructure.

The Kenya Forestry Research Institute reveals that Kenya lost six million eucalyptus trees between January and June this year.

Even more alarming is a warning by the Greenbelt Movement that Karura Forest, one of Kenya’s last remaining urban forests, is under threat following plans by the government, through the Kenya Forest Service and Kenya National Highways Authority, to excise 51.64 acres of its land — equivalent to 29 standard football pitches — for expanding Kiambu Road into a dual carriageway.

A private entity called ASSUP Enterprises has also been given approval to build a recreational facility on 2.076 acres of the forest. This is likely to come with devastating effects because the forest serves as a crucial urban green lung for Nairobi, playing a vital role in water conservation, biodiversity preservation and climate change mitigation.

Kenya’s history has shown that politicians have always used similar tactics to grab public land. The Karura excision is a clear plot for key members of the Ruto administration to not only seize forestland but also destroy the future of generations.

That is why we are asking the President to walk his talk on afforestation.