Team’s bid to restore forests in two counties

A section of Kaptagat water tower in Elgeyo Marakwet. It has borne the brunt of deforestation. [File, Standard]

A multi-agency team has teamed up with the national government to seek ways to restore two key forests to meet rising water demands.

The Eldoret Water Fund project is intended to restore the Cherangany and Kaptagat water towers due to declining water levels that have led to dry taps in Eldoret and Iten.

Water Fund Director Fred Kihara said they were utilising a concept that has been embraced in large cities in Brazil, Colombia and Chile, and currently in Upper Tana and Nairobi.

“We are looking at a situation where residents from the two counties and other private sector partners will work with us and the national government to conserve water towers for future generations,” said Mr Kihara.

The fund draws its membership from the Kenya Water Towers Agency (KWTA), Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb), Eldoret Water Services, Iten Water Services Company, the Kenya Forest Service as well as Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet county governments.

Wasreb chairman Joshua Irungu lauded the leadership of the counties for developing conservation policies to protect water catchment areas.

Mr Irungu urged Warma officials to promptly resolve any conflicts that arise due to their conservation activities so as to guarantee constant water supply to the two towns.

In a bid to restore the degraded forest cover, the two counties have embarked on an ambitious bamboo-planting exercise.

Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago launched the activity in Kapseret Forest last Thursday.

Elgeyo Marakwet had launched a bamboo investment and commercialisation project in July, which targeted farmers, as KWTA embarked on establishing the plant in Kaptagat Forest.

Governor Alex Tolgos said a factory would be established in Keiyo South to process bamboo products and urged farmers to position themselves to reap from the plant.