- 1,000 seedlings planted in Ngubi forest on International Forests Day.
- A resident applauds President Uhuru Kenyatta for allowing the society and organsations to participate in forest replanting as a strategy to achieve 10 per cent forest cover.
The government has asked residents of Kiambu county living near forests not to lit fires as they can spread very fast.
The Kenya Forest Service has said because of the prolonged dry spells most of the vegetation has dried up and little fire near the forest can result into a big tragedy than wont' be easy to contain.
Kiambu Ecosystem Conservator Paul Karanja said forest such as Ngubi, Uplands, Kinale and Kamae, which are located near villages, are very prone to an inferno.
He advised residents who burn waste materials along the roads to stop since the fire can accidentally spread into the forest and lead to huge losses.
The KFS also suspended grazing of domestic animals at Ngubi forest as an effort to encourage replanting of trees.
Karanja said this was part of strategy to ensure the newly planted tree seedling are not destroyed by the domestic animals.
“Stop burning waste by the road side because the sparks of fire might cause a big fire in the forest and everything can get burnt,” he said.
“We have also asked locals who graze animals inside the forests to stop but we shall tell them when to resume grazing after we evaluate the progress of the seedlings,” he said.
Karanja spoke on Monday at Ngubi forest during International Forest Day.
He was accompanied by Uplands forester Isaac Waweru, deputy county commissioners Charles Mukele (Limuru) and James Kamau (Lari).
Others present were Kijabe Environmental Volunteers Organisation, Esconnet Kenya led by Mburu Waiganjo and Limuru court users committee led by its vice chairman Paul Ngugi.
Karanja applauded Esconnet for volunteering to water the 1,000 seedlings of indigenous tree.
Ngugi also praised KFS for involving the community, different organisations and corporates in forest conservation.
Ngugi said Kenya’s vision of attaining 10 per cent forest will easily be achieved if people continue partnering with the government.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)