Nairobi: Kenya's push toward a green, youth-driven economic transformation took centre stage at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Economists Society of Kenya (ESK), which concluded this week in Mombasa. The event, themed 'The Kenya We Want', spotlighted the Treeconomy Programme, a bold, bottom-up framework linking trees, communities, and innovation to national development.
According to Kenya News Agency, the Treeconomy model, spearheaded by the Director of Economic Planning and Patron of the programme under Elawnet Foundation and Consortium, Mr. Lawrence Mwiti Muthamia, was presented as a blueprint for sustainable development. Structured around four pillars, the model integrates tree planting, education, community mobilization, and green economy metrics into Kenya's planning architecture. These pillars include the grassroots tree-planting initiative 'One Tree, One Life', 'Eco-HOPE' for community mobilization, the 'AfroAfrica Forest Alliance' for continental collaboration, and 'Eco-GDP', which integrates green economy accounting into national planning.
In his closing address, Member of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Shahbal Said Suleima called on the Kenya Kwanza Government to allocate at least 1.5 percent of its annual budget to transformative, youth-led initiatives such as Treeconomy. He emphasized that empowering the youth is synonymous with empowering the future, and highlighted Treeconomy as a model that can industrialize agriculture, restore ecosystems, and create green jobs.
A key highlight was the launch of the Treeconomy agenda at Kiamweri Model Village in Meru County. The pilot site features eco-schools, eco-hubs, and eco-nurseries, demonstrating how grassroots institutions can collaborate to green their environment while generating livelihoods. Another pilot in the Turkana Basin is transforming drylands into productive ecosystems through tree planting, water harvesting, and climate-smart agriculture.
Suleiman illustrated the model's potential through the honey value chain, noting that Kenya's annual demand for honey stands at 100 metric tonnes, while local production meets only 17 metric tonnes. He pointed out that deficits in the economy represent opportunities, urging investments in modern beekeeping and forest management to close the gap and create rural jobs.
The Treeconomy programme aligns with Kenya's Vision 2030, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), and the 15 Billion Tree Campaign. It also contributes to global frameworks including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Following the conference, Mr. Suleiman and Mr. Muthamia pledged long-term collaboration to institutionalise the Treeconomy as a cornerstone of Kenya's economic agenda, emphasizing the need for its scaling and institutional support.
Central to Treeconomy's approach is the creation of a new green GDP metric that values forests, water, carbon, and biodiversity as national economic assets. Mr. Muthamia stated that this move is vital to rethinking Kenya's development indicators, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to economic planning.