Kuria: Conserve Koguta Forest as you embrace tree planting

Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has urged locals in Nyakach, Kisumu, to embrace tree planting as they conserve Koguta Forest.

Kuria who led the tree planting exercise within the area noted that the community should take environmental matters seriously to boost the forest cover in the area.

He noted that it was important for the people to be part of the climate change mitigation process and to do the right thing to address such challenges.

"We have witnessed and seen what has been happening across the country including this area, issues of floods, people lost property destroyed, including farms," Kuria said.

The CS stated that this proves that climate change mitigation processes are a collective responsibility and not the preserve of the government, and leaders.

"This is a collective responsibility and you must all rise to the occasion and be at the forefront of conserving the environment, let's all conserve Koguta forest," he said.

"Monthly I will visit this forest to see how it's progressing, don't let me down. We have trees that are enough across so let's continue planting trees across."

Kuria also urged Kenyans to embrace the President's tree planting agenda seeking to have 15 billion trees planted in a decade.

Nyanza regional commissioner Flora Mworoa noted that they planted over 2000 trees within Koguta Forest.

She asked the residents to endeavour to plant 30 trees so that they can meet the country's target of 15 billion in the next 10 years.

"What we are doing here today should be a collective responsibility and let's take care of the planted trees, don't let animals into the areas we have planted trees because doing so will derail our efforts in trying to improve forest cover in the area," Mworoa said.

Kisumu county is ranked at position 38 in tree cover within the country.

Its 10 years tree growing target is 91.9 million with an annual target of 9.2 million trees.