Kitui county puts in place policy to guide restoration and protection of forests

Kitui government is working on legal mechanisms to restore lost forests and habitat, environment chief officer David Masai has said.

The environment department has partnered with the Resources Conflict Institute (Reconcile) to draft the Kitui county forest conservation and management policy.

The policy seeks to ensure sustainable use and protection of forests.

Masai said the devastating effects of climate change and food insecurity in the county has called for immediate action to restore lost flora and fauna.

“Destruction of forests has led to drought and resulted in food insecurity,” he said.

Biodiversity loss is one of the Triple Planetary Crises. Its recovery was emphasised in the just concluded UNEA conference.

“We want to restore what we have lost in terms of nature and biodiversity by regenerating forests for safe habitat. Living things like bees will have places to breed and help with pollination,” said Masai.

He spoke on Tuesday during the collection of views towards the drafting of the forest conservation and management policy. 

The meeting brought together members of the of the civil society groups and relevant county and national government officials from Nema and Kefri.

Masai said the draft policy will be presented to the county assembly for adoption after public members have given their input.

In order to increase Kitui’s tree cover, the department through twin initiatives, Duka Moja Miti Tatu and Boma Moja Miti Ishrini, grew more than 300,000 trees last season.

The chief officer said they target to grow 500,000 trees across in all the 40 wards during the March-May rain season.

The national tree assessment report released by the Kenya Forest Service says Kitui’s tree cover currently stands at 15.7 per cent.

Reconcile Project Manager, Beatrice Mutua, project assistant Benjamin Mutua and the Kitui Governor Julius Malombe’s adviser on climate change Grace Mutua were present in the meeting.

Beatrice promised to incorporate all suggestions and input from members of the public in the policy.

She said decimation of the forests was not only a concern in Kitui but the entire country.

“That is why we are seeking to restore forests to their previous state guided by a policy. The policy will enable residents to ultimately reap optimum benefits from forests and their products,” Beatrice said.