Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko has urged Kenyans to protect Mother Nature by planting trees.
Ecosystem degradation is threatening the survival of humanity and future generations, science demonstrates.
“Protection of Mother Nature is not only the right thing to do but also makes business sense because for every dollar invested in environmental sustainability 15 percent is realized in returns," Tobiko said.
He was speaking during a virtual meeting with chief executive officers of corporate companies and the private sectors on Friday to discuss their commitments to contribute to the attainment of the 2 billion national trees planting campaign.
The CS said that the consequences of the three planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and waste are too obvious to ignore.
"I urge all corporate to unite in protecting Mother Nature because it is not only a Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR) but our civic duty as citizens of the World,” he said.
He added that the government provides an institutional and legal framework for the three triple crises which require everyone’s input.
Kenya targeted to plant at least two billion trees by end of this year in a bid to increase the country’s forest cover from the current seven percent to 10 percent.
The tree-planting campaign will be done in two main seasons including March during the long rains and October during the short rains.
To support this initiative, the Kenya Trade Network Agency (Ken Trade) committed to planting at least 2,000 trees this year.
This, as reports, indicates that the country has the least trees in Africa.
According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Kenya faces high rates of deforestation which endanger both its fauna and flora.
“There is a need for a consolidated mechanism in building synergies for monitoring and evaluation which will go a long way in ensuring there is available data on the tree's growth,” Tobiko said.
Tobiko said that it is important to be able to take care of the footprints which will ensure ‘Net Zero’ which is a balance between the number of emissions produced and those removed from the atmosphere to reduce global warming.
The CS called on the private sector to participate in upcoming global events like Stockholm+50 to lend their expertise.
Stockholm+50 event will be commemorated in June in Sweden.
