State embarks on restoration of the Kaptagat forest ecosystem

The government has embarked on an ambitious initiative to restore the depleted Kaptagat forest ecosystem, a vital water tower in the North Rift covering 4,000 hectares.
The initiative will be carried out through the Kaptagat Integrated and Livelihoods programme and will cover Sabor, Kessup and Bennon water catchment. So far, it has already seen more than two million trees planted, restoring 2,765 hectares whose impact is already beginning to be felt by the local community.
According to George Tarus, a forest secretary, the initiative comprises livelihood improvement programmes with locals being issued with high-value crops including avocado and macadamia.
“If we are to address the issue of forest degradation, there should be a deliberate action to attack the drivers of the vice. We have identified poverty as one of the key drivers. When poverty levels are high, community members will depend on forests for purposes of their livelihoods,” noted Tarus.
The initiative also involves enforcing controlled grazing especially for locals adjacent to forest who will be allowed to graze their livestock through controlled monthly licences.“This will be structured through a participatory management plan where government specific areas will be set aside for grazing and agree on carrying capacity, which that ecosystem can support,” said Tarus.
Last year, the government issued a ban on grazing in some parts of the country noting that it had contributed to the depletion of the ecosystem.
Among other livelihood improvement programmes, the government has also rolled out intensive dairy farming through the issuance of high-breed livestock. The programme targets 28,000 households who will benefit from one acre of fodder through agroforestry system.
Transforming households
According to Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo, who is also the patron of Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme, they will soon roll out the fencing of the 273-kilometre perimeter of Kaptagat ecosystem.
“This will be done through an exhaustive consultative process. The restoration programme is already transforming households, showing how restoration meets impact,” said Kiptoo.
President Ruto is set to preside over the ninth edition of the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme at Simotwo High School in Elgeyo Marakwet County on Saturday.
The event will be preceded by Kaptagat Forest Half Marathon where participants will win various prizes.
The government has assured residents that the planned fencing will not deny them a right to access the forest for firewood, controlled grazing of their livestock and extracting herbal medicine.
According to Dr Kiptoo, trees have a big commercial benefit and if Kenyan farmers embrace them, they can be exported to other countries and earn them income.
Kaptagat forest is a lifeline to thousands of people with key rivers originating there while others recharge their volumes there. It is estimated that indigenous trees cover 650 hectares.
More than 95 per cent of the forest is zoned for plantation but due to unchecked harvesting, overgrazing over the years, and a lack of sustained commitment and enforcement of conservation activities, logging has been actively taking place for decades, dealing a big blow to conservation efforts.
This human activity has been threatening to destroy the watershed clustered under the Cherang’any water catchment as well as preventing regeneration and rehabilitation of the natural forest.
According to Cornelius Chepsoi, an environmentalist, the continued destruction not only affects the indigenous trees but also interferes with the rain patterns.
“The water levels are currently dropping rapidly, surprisingly Eldoret is experiencing a water shortfall of 40,000 cubic metres each day,” said Chepsoi, noting that despite plans to increase the water volume through establishment of water dams to supplement the decline, the continued logging is a worry.
Eldoret City requires over 50,000 cubic metres of water and demand is expected to rise because of population increase.
Water supply source
The government intends to plant over 39 million trees in the region this year alone. The trees will be planted on the open fields in the forests and at individual farmlands and public institutions. “To preserve water catchment areas in the forest, we have initiated a plan to zone areas for plantation and indigenous trees in all forests in the region which is outlined in the KFS management plan,” Kiptoo noted.
The North Rift hub of Eldoret relies on a water supply station constructed more than 50 years ago in Kaptagat forest alongside the Chebara Dam in Elgeyo Marakwet county, which provides 39,000 cubic metres of water per day.
This is against the daily demand of 53,000 cubic metres in Eldoret town with a population of more than a million people.