Forestry PS Gitonga Mugambi, Chief Conservator of forests Alex Lemarkoko during the roundtable investor conference on July 22 / HANDOUT
The government has unveiled a Sh15 billion
portfolio of climate resilience and forest restoration projects aimed at
strengthening agroforestry, restoring degraded ecosystems and creating green
jobs across the country.
The investment-ready projects were launched in Nairobi on Wednesday in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
They were developed under the Project for Strengthening Forest Sector Development and Community Resilience to Climate Change through Sustainable Forest Management and Landscape Restoration.
The projects target arid and semi-arid lands, mangrove restoration, agroforestry and commercial forestry, as well as the control of invasive Prosopis (Mathenge).
Forestry secretary George Tarus said the overall goal is to enhance climate resilience, food security and green economic growth through large-scale adoption of climate-smart agroforestry systems and green value chains.
The programme includes Sh3.7 billion for projects in 14 Asal counties, Sh3.5 billion for mangrove restoration in five coastal counties, Sh4 billion for agroforestry and commercial forestry in 24 counties, and Sh3.84 billion to control the spread of Mathenge in five Asal counties.
Tarus said the agroforestry project will establish 23 mega tree nurseries, plant 230 million trees on smallholder farms and strengthen 230 farmer organisations through green value chains and value-addition centres.
The programme also includes institutional support through county agroforestry action plans, training of 690 officers and establishment of national and county coordination units to oversee implementation.
"The projects are expected to increase
household incomes from tree-based enterprises by at least 30 per cent,"
Tarus said.
The Mathenge project aims to restore 15,000 hectares of degraded land, improve rangeland productivity and biodiversity, while creating new income opportunities through Prosopis-based enterprises for pastoralist communities, women and youth.
The mangrove restoration initiative seeks to restore 7,000 hectares of degraded mangrove forests across five coastal counties by establishing 10 mega mangrove nurseries, promoting nature-based enterprises and supporting value addition for mangrove products.
The project is also expected to create 10,000 green jobs while boosting climate resilience and blue carbon sequestration.
Forestry PS Gitonga Mugambi said the projects support the government's target of growing 15 billion trees and restoring 10.6 million hectares of degraded landscapes under the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy.
He also announced plans to grow one billion cocoa trees, which he said could generate Sh1 trillion for the economy, alongside another one billion avocado trees.
Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko said the Kenya Forest Service will strengthen participatory forest management by involving local leaders more closely in conservation programmes, while Kenya Forestry Research institute director Jane Njuguna said communities in Kaptagat have already earned about Sh90 million through the sale of seedlings produced from Kefri-supplied seeds for restoration initiatives.
