NAIROBI, Kenya June 5 – Kenya is upbeat on achieving success in the ongoing efforts to restore the country’s ecosystem as it joins the rest of the world in marking the World Environment Day.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko says the government is on track in restoring the country’s ecosystem as he rallied Kenyans to take action and restore nature and livelihoods in order to halt environmental degradation.
“We look forward to a well conserved ecosystem able to mitigate the impacts of climate change and provide the necessary ecological services as required,” he said.
The theme for this year’s event is “Ecosystem Restoration” and coincides with the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem restoration which aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
Tobiko noted that his Ministry together with various stakeholders have been undertaking various initiatives to restore the country’s ecosystem through implementing various strategies including the 10 percent tree cover by 2022, climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes, urban rivers generation programme and the waste management programs.
Kenya’s current forest cover stands at 7.2 percent with Tobiko hoping that the figure would increase to 10 percent by 2022 by raising 1.8 billion seedlings required to attain the much-needed forest cover.
The Kenya Forest Service in 2016 mapped all the areas for restoration to respond to the global commitments.
“Towards achievement of the restoration effort, several stakeholders have joined in this call. I acknowledge the efforts by both the public and private stakeholders in provision of technical and financial support to Kenyans in growing of tree to increase the nationwide forest cover,” he said.
On the climate change mitigation and adaptation programme, Tobiko noted that his Ministry has been working on the Mikoko Pamoja Programme to rehabilitate the mangroves in the coastal region.
The programme spearheaded by National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) cuts across 14 counties and it tries to address water scarcity, food security, resilience, coastal regions and knowledge management.
Tobiko pointed out that there has been tremendous success in the efforts of waste management programs citing the success case studies of the Kibarani dumpsite in Mombasa and Kachok in Kisumu Counties which have since been restored to make green spaces and recreation sites.
Degradation of shrub lands, grasslands and savannas through over-exploitation and poor management, overgrazing and poor management, deforestation and charcoal burning, fluctuating flooding and droughts, human wildlife conflict, over-exploitation of productive hotspots and invasive species are some of the challenges that hinder the restoration of ecosystems.
