Post: Drive to restore forest cover in Kodera kicks off.

An initiative has kicked off to restore the forest cover in Kodera forest in Homa Bay county.The county government in collaboration with an organization dubbed Miti Maisha and Seth Okello foundation have embarked on a massive campaign to restore the forest cover in Kodera Forest.The forest which is the largest in Homa Bay County has faced servere deforestation over the years.According to Homa Bay County Executive Committee Member for Environment Dr. Joash Aloo, the tree cover in Kodera forest has reduced to a paltry 30 per cent.Extensive parts of the forest which used to be a canopy of trees are now bare land.This means the forest may disappear if robust measures are not put in place to conserve it.The reforestation exercise was launched today by Miti Maisha Chief Executive Dr. Agnes Awuor accompanied by her counterpart for Seth Ogelo Foundation Seth Ogelo and Dr Oloo.They said the initiative targets to plant 10,000 seedlings in the forest.Dr Aloo said that decades back, the forest was a cano py of trees with springs in the hills.He expressed concerns that the canopy has disappeared and the springs have dried up due to deforestation.Oloo said deforestation in Kodera forest had also contributed to pollution of Lake Victoria which is situated a few kilometers from the forest.'Deforestation in Kodera forest has left the soil bare soil which encourages soil erosion thus silting Lake Victoria. We must save this forest,' Dr Aloo said.Dr Awuor said their objective is to improve environment by planting trees.She said her organization was contributing 10,000 seedlings for planting in the forest.'We must conserve the environment for the future generations. The trees we are planting here will also enhance food production in this area by attracting rainfall,' Dr Awuor said.She said her organization is also encouraging school children to embrace the culture of planting trees.'We are encouraging pupils to plant and take care of trees in their schools. This will inculcate the culture of tree plan ting in the society,' she added.Ogelo said they target to plant in phases one million trees by 2027.'We have started the first phase of planting the trees in this forest. The other phases will continue until we achieve our target.' said Ogelo.In an effort to improve tree cover in Homa Bay County, Dr Aloo said they are also planting trees in other forests.'The current tree cover in Homa Bay County is a paltry 3.1 per cent but we want to improve it to least 10 per cent.Source: Kenya News Agency