Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has asked the Environment Ministry to declare another National Tree Planting Day after the expected El Niño rains failed to materialise.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking at Makutano Forest in Kipkelion East Constituency on Sunday, October 11, Chirchir said the dry spell disrupted this year’s Mazingira Day tree-planting activities, affecting efforts to meet Kericho County’s target of planting 300,000 trees.

He said he would petition Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa to schedule another nationwide tree-planting exercise to help accelerate progress towards the national target of planting 15 billion trees.

“I will ask my colleague, the Minister for Environment, Deborah Barasa, to give us another day nationally so that we can continue striving towards our target of planting the 15 billion trees,” Chirchir stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

Chirchir said the country needed to maintain momentum towards its environmental restoration goals despite the unfavourable weather conditions experienced during this year’s national celebrations.

Kenya already observes Mazingira Day on October 10 as a gazetted public holiday dedicated to environmental conservation, including tree planting. If Barasa approves Chirchir’s request and the additional day is gazetted as a public holiday, it would give the country another day for nationwide tree-planting activities.

Chirchir noted that Kericho County had planned to plant 300,000 trees within one hour, but the dry conditions disrupted the exercise, prompting the call for another planting day.

The appeal comes as the government pursues a target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032 to restore forests, rehabilitate degraded land and strengthen the country’s environmental resilience.

During this year’s Mazingira Day celebrations, President William Ruto announced plans for an aerial seeding initiative targeting cleared and mapped forest areas, alongside measures to expand seedling production across the country.

Ruto also announced that 15,000 National Youth Service (NYS) personnel would work with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to increase annual seedling production to at least two billion.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke