Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association, TTWCA, led a tree planting activity in Taita Taveta County, which saw more than 1,000 trees planted at the Taita Hills Sanctuary, as the world marked World Environmental Day on 5th of June this year 2024.
The number of trees planted scaled the number of trees planted this year by TTWCA to a total of 10,000 of the 40,000 trees expected to be planted in collaboration with various stakeholders in the region within a span of two years.
Speaking after the tree-planting activity that brought together various stakeholders, the manager Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, Jacob Ngatia said they were aiming to grow trees in the area affected by climate change, including wildfires, degradation and massive tree cutting.
Ngatia says they have put numerous tree planting strategies in place to increase tree cover by ensuring that every tourist visiting the hotel grows a tree that continues to be nurtured to fullest by personnel designated to handle the activity, adding that they aim to plant more than 40,000 trees within the next two years after initiation of the project in 2010.
Equally, minister for Environment, Water, Sanitation, Climate Change and Natural Resources in Taita Taveta County, Grantone Mwandawiro said the county through the Climate Change Response Unit had invested 20 million shillings to plant and grow 20,000 trees, through empowering local communities and community based organizations in remote areas within Taita Taveta County.
Mwandawiro cited that, the county government of Taita Taveta has allocated 360,000 acres of land for tree planting, a rate of 1,000 trees per hectare, which is equivalent to 360 million trees in ten years and, totaling to 36 million trees each year. The minister also urged communities and everyone to ensure they plant 100 trees each year, as a way to increase the amount of tree cover in the county.
The minister also called on all stakeholders to work together to address various environmental challenges, especially during this unprecedented climate change time, while recommending regular environmental activities throughout the year to continue safeguarding the environment.
George Oyoo, County Director for National Environmental Management Authority, NEMA in Taita Taveta County, added that tree planting through various communities and stakeholders would contribute positively towards achieving the Kenyan government’s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
Speaking during the same event, Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association CEO, Alfred Mwanake, noted that they have partnered with the TUI Care Foundation to facilitate the planting of 40,000 trees in the Taita Hills Sanctuary. He reiterated that, they are committed to ensuring the trees grown are nurtured to the fullest, through enabling and empowering youth and community CBOs, to water the trees from drying, while explaining that as TTWCA, they aim to plant millions of trees.
At the same event, Teita Sisal Estate production manager Antony Dara added that as a company they had planted more than 25,000 trees in a year and grown them to the fullest where they can survive and await rainfall seasons.
Planting of trees is one exercise and growing and nurturing them is another, stressing that as Teita sisal estate, they have invested in communities to maintain planted trees and growing them to a point they less require nurturing. Additionally, Dara noted with concern the issue of unemployment, food insecurity and livelihood improvement, especially in the face of unprecedented climate change and changing of rainfall patterns, stating that, the situations will be tackled by change of mind set and farming systems based on drought prevalence’s, urging people to embrace sisal farming for profit and sustainability of livelihoods.
It is clear that unity, collaboration, coordination, expression of the common intentions and goals, as well as the common practice of government, corporations and communities, will enable the achievement of efforts to protect the environment for the benefit of the present and the future generations.
This year’s World Environment Day theme was Land Restoration, Desertification and Building Drought Resilience, with each of us being asked to make our contributions to the environment by normalizing planting and growing trees at all times.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 15, aims to protect, strengthen and promote the good use of the environment, protect forests, end forest degradation and deforestation, and end the loss of biodiversity in our ecosystems, including, humans, animals, insects and many other creatures as well as keeping the global warming temperatures below 1.5 degree Celsius.
