According to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources Professor Judy Wakhungu, Kenya had a forest cover of 10% in the 20th century but today it’s been reduced to less than 7% due to deforestation, commercial agriculture, charcoal burning and forest cultivation.
This has become a nightmare to Kenya and many other African countries that face a couple of environmental issues which include deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water shortage and degraded water quality, flooding, poaching, and domestic and industrial pollution. Kenya has resolved to undertake the restoration of 5.1 million hectares of degraded land through tree based restoration including agroforestry.
Currently, Kenya has put in place policy frameworks that address protection and preservation of ecosystem services, these include the minimum target of 10% forest cover in Vision 2030 and the Kenya Water Towers management program which is aimed at protecting and preserving the five water towers in the country. This has enabled a huge investment to be made in order to protect the Mau forest, including fencing a majority of the perimeter to allow natural regeneration, said CS Wakhungu.
The Environment CS further added that Kenya has been a great supporter of ecosystem economic program and played a major role in passing the environmental resolutions including one on natural capital during the UNEA 2(United Nations Environmental Assembly) and thanked the government of Kenya which has always supported the innovative environmental program.
