Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has directed City manager Abala Wanga to take stern action against livestock owners whose animals roaming in the city.
He said the animals are destroying trees which were planted as part of the environment conservation and beautification of the City.
Nyong’o said livestock owners whose animals are found in the city should be arrested and charged.
Nyong'o directed that the animals be impounded.
He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Public Service executive Judith Oluoch during a tree planting exercise at Moi stadium.
"We are spending resources to buy seedlings only for them to be destroyed by these animals hence my order to for action against the owners," Oluoch said.
Residents along the airport corridor have reportedly allowed goats and cows to destroy tree seedlings.
Nyong’o signed an Executive Order on November 16 last year setting aside 10th of every month as a Kisumu City Tree Planting Day.
The City has the lowest forest cover in the country at about 1.55 per cent against a national figure of 12.13 per cent.
Nyong'o said his administration and other partners will achieve seven per cent of tree cover within the city by 2027.
The county, he said, is also beautifying the airport corridor.
"We have seen the devastating effects of climate change, the back-flow from Lake Victoria that has caused deadly floods in parts of the county is directly linked to climate change,” Nyong’o said.
The governor attributed deforestation and poor land use as the major cause of climate change.
Deforestation has also led to the worst droughts ever witnessed in Kenya in the past four decades and the unpredictable rainfall patterns.
Cities and urban centres are the next dwelling focus areas with populations expected to hit 60 per cent by 2050.
“We must therefore be prepared for environmental pressure that will come with this massive rural and urban migration," Nyong'o said.
