MAKUENI KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN TO GROW 1 MILLION TREES

The Department of Lands through the Directorate of Environment has launched a campaign to grow 1 million trees in the October-November-December rain season.

The exercise is part of a greater initiative by the County Government of Makueni to plant and grow 344M trees by the year 2032 to restore degraded landscapes and forests.

The exercise was launched by County Executive Committee Member Japheth Mang’oka flanked by Chief Officer Geoffrey Muthoka, representatives of Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Forest Research Institute and Community Forest Association at Kalumbi Forest in Mbitini Ward, Makueni Sub-county.

Acting Director Climate Change Jackline Kamusa says a greater percentage of the trees are fruit trees, to be given to farmers to ensure food resilience in the wake of climate change.

To weed out the menacing illegal felling of trees for charcoal and timber, Mang’oka said the county government has enlisted the support of Community Forest Associations for policing and intelligence sharing on the perpetrators of this environmental destruction.