Kipchoge tree planting initiative to give lease of life to Kaptagat forest

Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will, on Friday, lead renowned athletes in giving Kaptagat forest a new lease of life by planting over 250,000 seedlngs. 

The forest deep within Elgeyo Marakwet county acts as a good high altitude training site for local and foreign elite athletes. 

Some of the athletes who have trained in the forest have become world champions and earned the forest even a bigger accolades. 

Years of degradation and deforestation have however, continued to threaten the ecosystem, its biodiversity and glory in the process.

On Friday, the 6th edition of the event will see over 250,000 mixed tree seedlings planted to rehabilitate Kaptagat, Penon, Sabor, Kessup and Kipkabus forest stations in the latest efforts to restore the water tower.

Environment PS Chris Kiptoo and Kipchoge will preside over the rehabilitation exercise.

In 2019, Kipchoge signed an MoU with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to adopt 50.8 hectares of Kaptagat forest.

The MoU would see him rehabilitate and restore the degraded water tower and later establish a training track and ecotourism site.

The forest has sections with exotic trees such as Cypress, Eucalyptus and Pines planted mainly to help the government generate revenue.

It also boosts of blossoming sections of indigenous trees whose main aim is to protect the water tower for the current and future generation.

Kipchoge visited the site on Thursday to oversee preparations where local residents were busy fencing the area to protect the seedlings.

Since Kaptagat Forest is a unique ecosystem where people, nature, and the economy interconnect its conservation remains critical.

The World Wide Fund-Kenya through the UK-Pact, Trillion Trees and WWF-UK has donated Sh8,940,000 million to the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation to facilitate the fencing and restoration of his adopted 50.8  hectares.

Kaptagat forest station manager Richard Guya told the Star on Thursday that the ecosystem is an important not only for the athletes but also, the country and the region.

"We have streams and tributaries feeding the rivers passing through the ecosystem,"he said.

The rivers include Kipsinende, Kapkei, Naiberi and Eldoret stream that join river Sosiani and drain into Lake Victoria, " he said.

Guya said Kaptagat is one of the forests in North Rift conservation area that covers a total of 5,663.56 hectares. He also notes how Lake Victoria even serves Egypt.

The Kaptagat forest ecosystem initially hosted huge areas of bamboo.

Kaptagat is derived from Kalenjn word 'tegat' which means bamboo in the local dialect.

It is for this reason that authorities, led by the Environment Ministry and Kenya Water Towers Agency, has set up a national bamboo demonstration site within a section of the forest.

Guya said the Community Forest Association composed of locals adjacent to the resource and registered under the Society's Act were reaping benefits from the forest resource.

Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016 allows user rights for community forest association.

Such rights include water resources, herbs, firewood, research and education, cultural benefits, bee keeping, and plantation establishment livelihood improvement system.

The Community Forest Association may also establish ecotourism activities.

Guya noted how conservation is not cheap making partnerships are especially important. 

He said WWF-Kenya has been one of the partners as they have stepped in to help in the rehabilitation exercise as well as availing other programs that uplift community livelihoods.

Such activities include the promotion of biogas through the greening Kaptagat project.

The adoption of biogas ensures that the community involves zero grazing hence reducing the number of livestock in the forest as well as improving farmers income.

The adoption of biogas has also helped to curb the felling of trees for fuel.

Guya said other partners are extremely welcome.