Initiative seeks to plant 600,000 trees to reclaim critical Cheptais water tower in Bungoma

East Africa Infrastructure Platform (EAIP) chief executive officer George Njenga watering a tree, on June 9, 2023, after launching the second phase of a tree planting initiative aimed at reclaiming Cheptais Forest in Mt Elgon, in Bongoma County. He is assisted by Mr Koech Kebenei, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) station manager for Cheptais Forest. [Photo, Courtesy] Several organisations have joined hands to plant 600,000 trees at Cheptais Forest in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County, to save the water catchment area. The initiative dubbed; "Cheptais Forest Reforestation Project", which is being spearheaded by power and energy infrastructure company East Africa Infrastructure Platform (EAIP), is in line with President William Ruto's plan to plant 15 billion trees, by 2032, to increase Kenya's forest cover to 30 per cent. The drive is part of global efforts to mitigate the effect of climate change. The UN recommended forest cover for countries is at least 10 per cent of their total land area. Kenya's forest cover currently stands at 7.4 per cent of the total 580,370 km2 land area. EAIP and its partners, which include Bungoma-based NGO, Cheptais Community Forest Association (CCFA) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS), have planted over 60,000 seedlings, since 2021 when the project was piloted. The project is also supported by the Ministry of Energy, KenGen Foundation, and the Danish Embassy. EAIP chief executive officer George Njenga said they so far spent over Sh12 million on the project, which is part of the Climate Action plan, adopted during the Conference of the Parties (COP) in France in 2015, through which countries agreed to reduce emissions on greenhouse gases. Countries that signed the COP 2015 deal agreed to step up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen adaptive capacity to climate-induced impacts, through reducing climate-related hazards and integrating climate change measures into national policies. The campaign also aims to address the energy transition, a global energy sector's shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Members of Cheptais Community Forest Association (CCFA) plant trees at Cheptais Forest in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County, on June 9, 2023, during the second phase of "Cheptais Forest Reforestation Project" to reclaim the degraded water tower. [Photo, Courtesy] Trees are critical in the fight against climate change as they absorb carbon out of the atmosphere. They also help communities and ecosystems adapt to extreme weather conditions, besides slowing floods, reducing temperatures and providing food. Mr Njenga said they are now in the second phase of the project which will see 5,500 trees planted over five hectares. "During piloting and phase one of the project, we planted 60,200 tree seedlings on 55 hectares," Njenga told the Standard. He added: "It is part of our organization's CSR and it is a long-term project. We started by researching to find out which tree species do well in the area, then engaged the local community to grow the seedlings. We also fenced off the forest to ensure the planted trees are not destroyed." Njenga noted that the forest is in a bad state, with at least 50,000 of the total 124,760 acres, completely degraded after people cut down trees for firewood and to burn charcoal. He said EAIP, a management company of A.P. Moller Capital, picked on Cheptais forest because of the huge socio-economic cost its destruction would have on residents, the country and the region. Cheptais forest is one of the five water towers in Kenya and is a catchment for the drainage systems of Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana, and the Turkwel hydropower plant. Mr George Njenga, the CEO of East Africa Infrastructure Platform, speaks at Cheptais Forest in Bungoma County on June 9, 2023. [Photo, Courtesy] "These water bodies provide key economic activities for many people, from fishing to water transport, and tourism. We felt conserving this forest is critical. We are looking at how we can safeguard this critical water catchment area also for hydropower generation," Njenga said. Mr Njenga said through the project, a public-private engagement, they are helping local communities to protect the forest. "We are also encouraging economic activities such as beekeeping that does not destroy trees. We have fully involved residents in the efforts to save the forest. We asked them to grow and provide seedlings, and they are earning a living from it. We have also involved them in fencing and replacing planted trees that die or are destroyed by animals," said Njenga. He further said: "We are looking at two strategies to achieve our goals; the possibility of converting HFO into gas and planting trees which will reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We are also encouraging the use of better fuels." EAIP is also advocating the option of Carbon Markets, a trading system in which carbon credits are sold and bought. "It is a good way to accelerate reforestation. Companies or individuals can use Carbon Markets to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon credits from entities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions." He noted that several factors have affected their efforts in the Cheptais forest, including a lack of rainfall that saw them suspend tree planting for some time in 2021. "As the world battles the many environmental challenges, Africa remains the worst hit. We need more localized efforts and solutions towards adaptation and mitigation to address the negative impacts of climate change. One practical approach is through reforestation of degraded forest land," he said. Njenga added: "The impact of our greening Kenya reforestation project is immense and multi-dimensional. It will provide a livelihood to residents who supply labour and seedlings, while in the long term, it will contribute to the restoration of biodiversity, and critical water catchment habitats, and ultimately reverse the challenges of climate change. Residents will also benefit from apiculture." Mrs Janephrise Talieng, the chairperson of Bungoma-based NGO, Cheptais Community Forest Association (CCFA), is joined by her members in planting trees at Cheptais Forest on June 9. [Photo, Courtesy] The over 3,000 CCFA members have also provided critical information that has aided the project, said Njenga. KFS Bungoma County Representative Isaac Simiyu said they picked Cheptais Forest, in support of the government's conservation drive, because it is a critical water tower. "We're scaling up reforestation by training local communities on how to manage the planted trees and encouraging them to form forest community associations to access the forest. With close to 4,000 hectares, we encourage other organizations to join in and adopt more land for reforestation," Mr Simiyu said. CCFA chairperson Janephrise Talieng said: "The effects of climate change have challenged us to take responsibility for our past actions as a community. That is why we have joined efforts by the government with the aim of planting 15 billion trees to reach 30 per cent forest cover. We thank all partners who are helping us to restore the Cheptais forest for the benefit of current and future generations." Russia is home to the largest area of forest in the world, at 815 million hectares. Brazil, the US, Canada, China, Australia, and the DRC also have large forests, of over 100 million hectares each. There are five places on Earth with no forest at all, according to the World Bank's definition of 2019. These are Nauru Island in Northern Australia, San Marino in Italy, Qatar, Greenland, an island country in North America, and Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on Spain's south coast. WBulemi@Standardmedia.co.ke

Initiative seeks to plant 600,000 trees to reclaim critical Cheptais water tower in Bungoma

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