Cherangany set for restoration after recurring landslides

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.[Elvis Ogina,Standard]

Interior Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced a major restoration programme for the Cherangany ecosystem in the Rift Valley region, following recurrent landslides in the region which have claimed many lives and destroyed livelihoods.

Speaking in Nairobi during a partners’ roundtable for the programme dubbed Cherish (Cherangany Hills Ecosystem Restoration for Livelihood Improvement, Sustainability and Harmony), the CS said the initiative seeks to conserve the environment while providing sustainable livelihoods for local communities.

“The Chesongoch landslide disaster of the night of October 31 last year is still fresh in our minds. We lost lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure because the hill slopes—left bare and unstable due to human settlement—could no longer absorb the heavy downpour,” said the CS.

He noted that degradation of the forest has exacerbated resource-based conflicts among local communities

“When resources become scarce, when rivers dry up, when grazing land dwindles, when there is no water for livestock, desperation turns into conflict,” he said.

Cherangany Forest spans 414,928 hectares across Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia and West Pokot counties.

“The programme, anchored on President Ruto’s 15-billion-tree agenda, aims to restore 62,038 hectares of highly degraded escarpments and riparian land, protect 20 springs and critical water towers, and support sustainable livelihoods for local communities,” said Murkomen, who is the Cherish patron.

While thanking Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Mlongo Barasa for championing the ecosystem restoration efforts, Murkomen noted that the 10-year initiative will adopt an all-of-government, all-of-society framework.

“Help us support peace tournaments, help us train our youth on alternative livelihoods, among other initiatives,” he urged.