KWS Hosts Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service in Kenya's Second Nationwide Tree Planting Initiative

The Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, Hon. Felix Koskei, led KWS Board of Trustee members, Director General, Senior Management, staff and partners in a tree growing exercise adjacent to KWS Central workshop in Nairobi National Park on Friday 24th May, 2024.

Hon. Koskei said that the tree growing exercise was in fulfilment of a Presidential Directive which is targeting the planting of over 1.5 billion trees annually for 10 years to mitigate against global warming and adverse weather events resulting from climate change. “We urge all Kenyans to partner with the Government in achieving this objective,” Hon. Koskei said, adding that sponsors were being sought to adopt planted sites with a view to ensure that all trees planted are protected, survive and mature.

“I would like to urge all Kenyans to plant trees, when planting in your shambas, when weeding; in your daily activities, please always plant a tree,” Koskei said. He explained that he commenced this leg of the tree growing exercise in the Bomas of Kenya, where well over 4,000 trees were planted. After planting of 3,000 trees in NNP, he would head to the Administration Police Training College (APTC) in Embakasi and finally the adjucent army Barracks, to grow more trees.

KWS Director General Dr. Erustus Kanga thanked Hon. Koskei for gracing the tree growing exercise, adding that other sites had been readied for planting in Nairobi County, Bomet, Tharaka Nithi and Chepalungu Forest in Bomet. He assured attendees that most of KWS’s parks are safe and devoid of degradation. “This is an open grassland with some tree cover, and what we are planting today are acacia,” he said, adding that not too many trees would be grown in the area to avoid destabilizing the park’s grazers. Dr. Kanga outlined KWS’s plans to grow a buffer around the entire park, 500 metres from the fence surrounding the park, to deter encroachment and protect wildlife.

On the issue of benefits sharing with communities living around the park, Dr. Kanga said that continued growing of trees would attract carbon credits in the long term, which would benefit communities.

As the body tasked with conserving wildlife in Kenya and enforcing related laws and regulations, the Kenya Wildlife Service contributes significantly to Kenya's economy through wildlife management, aligning its operations with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). One of the deliverables in the achievement of this mandate is the conservation of Kenya’s water catchment areas, including; Aberdare Ranges, Mt. Kenya, Mt. Elgon and Chyulu Hills. KWS is a climate change action institution by dint of covering 20% of Kenya’s landmass, showcasing the importance of the tree-growing exercise.

Nairobi National Park has diverse habitats, each of which supports specific wildlife species. This tree growing exercise targeted the planting of 3,000 seedlings at the few remaining designated sites of the park. The government is shifting focus from tree planting to tree growing, which involves tending young seedlings until they are mature enough to support themselves, ensuring a higher survival rate.

This collaborative strategy is being coordinated and implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, through the State Department for Forestry.

Last year, the President declared 13th November a national tree-growing holiday, proceeding to launch it in Makueni County. The President further declared 10th May, 2024 a public holiday for tree growing, a pertinent indicator of the Government’s commitment to the 15 billion tree growing initiative. Hon. Koskei was assigned Nairobi County, and the second tree growing initiative targets the growing of 500,000 seedlings from 23rd to 25th May, 2024, on government and private land, riparian areas and even in residential areas.