President William Ruto on Tuesday said he has realised that there is a spiritual connection between prayers and tree planting.
The Head of State revealed this latest discovery during his foreign trip to Israel.
"I was pleased to learn this afternoon that is not only a good thing to protect our environment but is also biblical," he said.
"And it is also spiritual. I understand here because, for the first time, I found that we have to pray before we plant trees."
Ruto explained that Kenya has always tried to plant trees but the success has not been optimum, alluding it to a lack of prayers.
"I think because we didn't have the element of prayer and now that we do, I am very confident we will succeed in our plan to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years," Ruto said.
On December 22, 2022, President Ruto launched a tree restoration programme at Ngong Hills Forest in an effort to combat the effects of climate change in the country.
The initiative, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, will work to reduce greenhouse emissions, stop and reverse deforestation, and restore 5.1 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes through the African Landscape Restoration Initiative.
On the same day, Ruto also planted 56 trees to mark his 56th birthday, while some counties that also participated in a similar event planted 560,000 trees.
The government has also launched a programme to distribute 1,000 tonnes of seeds to 18 seed centres across the country to raise 15 billion seedlings by 2032.
These seedlings will be grown on 10.6 million hectares of degraded forests and rangelands, with the goal of increasing Kenya’s national tree cover beyond 30 per cent.
The initiative is expected to create 320,000 direct jobs in seedling production, tree planting and maintenance, and other related efforts.
To further protect the environment, President Ruto also commissioned a test run of biodegradable potting tubing bags to replace plastic tubing bags, in fulfillment of the plastic pollution resolution adopted by the United Nations during UNEA 5.2 in Nairobi.
He also announced plans to launch an application called #JazaMiti, which will allow every Kenyan and institution to document their tree planting and monitor the growth of trees over time.
