State disburses Sh63.5m for conservation

By John Oyuke

Nyayo Tea Zones Development Corporation (NTZDC) has embarked on a Sh181.9 million forest conservation initiative to wean communities from destroying trees.

The corporation has, already, disbursed Sh63.5 million to communities in areas bordering forests within its jurisdiction.

The funding will accelerate afforestation and improve the livelihood of the people under the corporation’s five-year Green Zones Development programme.

Dr Anne Kinyua, the corporation’s managing director said various activities including beekeeping, fruit, poultry, dairy, fish farming and energy saving are be being funded to facilitate the weaning process.

The communities are also being encouraged to grow trees by supplying them with certified seeds and farm inputs, which they use to set up tree nurseries to supplement domestic fuel besides boost their incomes.

Environmental education

"If the communities have enough fuel, they will stop going into the forests," Kinyua told FJ last week.

Agriculture Assistant minister Gideon Ndambuki (right), the NTZDC managing director, Dr Kinyua, and Agriculture Minister William Ruto (middle) tour a new tea factory in North Central Nandi recently. [Photo: File]

She asked the Government to urgently process title deeds or lease certificates for its 17 zones to enable the corporation source for development funds.

She said the parastatal had also embarked on an educational campaign to sensitise the communities near gazetted zones — under its Jurisdiction – on the need to protect forests by planting trees.

These efforts, she said, would make people appreciate the importance of tea buffer belts and win their confidence as "owners" of the forests.

"We want to uplift the standards of people living near forests so that instead of being agents of destruction, they become custodians of forests protection by making them know they could earn money through the forests," said Kinyua.

The move by the corporation comes at a time when the Government is warning that unjustifiable depletion of the country’s forest cover is resulting in loss of biodiversity and vital water catchments which could lead to catastrophic changes in the country’s ecosystem.

President Kibaki asked communities living adjacent to water towers and other catchment areas to support the Government efforts to conserve then for the benefit of future generations.

Impact on economy

Kibaki who spoke during the launch of the National Tree Planting Programme, said trees have a direct impact on the performance of key sectors of the economy like agriculture and livestock.

On his part, the Prime Minister Raila Odinga said soil erosion caused by massive destruction of trees in forests was a major concern to the Government, which will be addressed as a priority conservation initiative.

The NTZDC was established in 1986 to promote forest conservation by providing buffer zones of tea and fuel wood. The zones would check against human encroachment.

The tea buffer zones act as a continuous belt of fuel wood around these forests. Existing buffer zones have formed protective belts in both Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon, Aberdare ranges, Mau-Transmara, Olpusimoru forest complex and Cherangani Hills. They are also found in Kakamega, Kaptagat, North and South Nandi Forests. The buffer zone idea has recently been introduced in Tinderet Forest.

The African Development Bank funds the parastatal’s Green Zones Development Support project—a major conservation initiative to plant trees, increase tea production, and improve rural access roads. The programme will end in 2012 and it is expected 17,000 farmers will have benefited, Kinyua said.

Move praised

Agriculture Minister William Ruto who visited the corporation’s tea factory under construction at Kipchabo in North Central Nandi Zone last week praised its move into forest protection.

Kinyua said the factory, which would employ 100 people, on commissioning, is projected to earn, at the initial stage, Sh200 million annually.