Plant more trees to increase forest cover, residents told

Northeastern regional commissioner John Otieno has urged residents to plant more trees to increase the forest cover and evert adverse effects of climate change.

Otieno said the unprecedented floods that are being witnessed across the country have claimed more lives and thousands of households displaced.

"We have all witnessed what climate change can do to a region and by extension a country. Northeastern we have not been spared as we are either in a food cycle or a drought," he said

“The only way out of this mess is to heed to the presidential directives on tree planting and take advantage of today’s public holiday set aside to plant trees. We should not be left behind in this important exercise,” he said.

The regional commissioner was speaking today at the Garissa Teachers Training College where he led area residents in a tree planting exercise.

Otieno also disclosed that the three counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa had already met their target of planting 10,000 trees and in most places surpassed it.

Otieno called on chiefs and their assistants to take a leading role in the national exercise by planting trees in the homesteads and office compounds.

"How are you going to convince the people under your jurisdiction to plant trees whereas yourself you have not planted even a single tree in your own compound or office compound," the regional commissioner said.

“The only way to convince the wananchi to plant trees is to lead by example. This is a national exercise that every administrator must take seriously and give the attention it deserves.” 

On his part environment crusader, Abdikadir Aden said the current floods in the county have been caused by the depletion of trees, especially along the river Tana catchment area.

Aden said trees are being felled for charcoal burning because of poverty.

He called on the government to subsidize the prices of cooking gas so that even the poorest of Kenyans can buy and avoid charcoal to save the forest from being further depleted.

“Our biggest undoing in North Eastern is poverty. To curb tree cutting and destruction of our environment is empowering those involved in the business by finding alternative sources of income,” Aden said.