Kisii: State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary Anne Wang'ombe has spearheaded a tree-planting exercise at Nyanturago wetland in Kisii County. During the exercise, Wang'ombe and officials from the Gender and Affirmative Action Ministry, Kisii County officers, and Heads of Departments from the national government planted 5004 assorted trees in the wetland.
According to Kenya News Agency, the Principal Secretary encouraged the public to continuously engage in tree planting to reap their benefits. "Trees provide several benefits, such as timber and fuel, and therefore, let us support these tree-planting initiatives so that we get to enjoy the fruits of our work later on," Wang'ombe said.
Kisii Forest Conservator Safari Opiyo decried the increasing human activities that had destroyed the wetland area, especially the grazing of animals within the catchment area. Opiyo mentioned that some community members were grazing their animals in the wetland, thereby destroying some of the trees that had been previously planted. "I am pleading with the residents here to refrain from bringing their animals to graze around this wetland so that we can allow the trees that have been planted today here to grow," said the Forest Conservator.
Similarly, the Kisii County Executive Committee Member for Gender, Timothy Arege, encouraged the residents to report those engaging in illegal activities aimed at destroying the wetland. Arege emphasized the responsibility of the community members to protect Nyanturago wetland, noting that there are bigger forests in the country protected by the neighboring communities. "As the community staying here, you must take charge of protecting the trees we have planted today because you and your children are the ones who will benefit from them," he emphasized.
According to statistics from the Kisii County Forest Office, the county has a tree cover of 26.6 percent and aims to achieve 30 percent tree cover by 2032. This tree-growing exercise aligns with President Ruto's initiative of rallying the rest of the world towards Africa's environmental crisis by ensuring 15 billion trees are planted across the country by 2032.