The conservation of water towers got a major boost over the weekend after over 70 organisations took part in a fundraising initiative.
On Saturday, hundreds of participants thronged Kereita Forest, which is part of the expansive Aberdares ecosystem, for the eighth annual edition of the Forest Challenge.
The challenge is an adventurous sports event bringing together corporations and individuals to compete and raise funds for tree growing and the rehabilitation of degraded forests.
It helps raise funds as well as awareness about the need to protect crucial water towers.
The Forest Challenge is an initiative of the East African Wild Life Society in collaboration with Kijabe Environment Volunteers and Kenya Forest Service launched in 2014.
It offers an opportunity for participants to interact with nature by taking part in competitive yet fun activities in Kereita Forest.
The challenge seeks to restore crucial water towers in the country, which are essential to supporting livelihoods and the survival of wildlife ecosystems.
Over the years, the Star newspaper has supported the event.
Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests Noor Hussein represented Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko.
East Africa Wild Life Society CEO Nancy Ogonje, Kiambu Environment and Natural Resources executive David Kuria, Kiambu Ecosystem conservator Thomas Kiptoo, and Kijabe Environment and Volunteers Organisation CEO Nelson Muiru attended the event.
Noor said the resources raised through the event will be used to rehabilitate degraded forests, including water catchment areas.
He said all those who took part in the event were winners.
The Deputy CCF decried that the impacts of climate change were increasing each minute.
“The effects of climate change have been increasing. Early this year, we had the worst drought in the last 40 years. Today we are experiencing floods that we have not seen before,” Noor said.
He reiterated that KFS will continue ensuring that the country hits the target of planting 15 billion trees in the next 10 years, as outlined by the state.
The government says some 150 million trees were planted during the ‘green holiday’ that was marked on November 13.
Noor said KFS intends to break the 150 million record in April next year.
“We are looking at a very high ambition of about 300 to 400 million seedlings in one day, hopefully in April,” he said.
Noor said the forest challenge that leaves no one behind, is meant to raise funds for the rehabilitation of about 100 hectares (247 acres) in this forest.
The state plans to grow 15 billion trees in the next 10 years at a cost of Sh600 billion.
This means that each year, the budget is approximately Sh60 billion.
The 15 billion tree campaign translates to 30 trees per Kenyan per year, over the next 10 years.
The state hopes that by 2032, the country’s tree cover will have hit 30 per cent, up from the current 12.13 per cent.
The forest cover increased from 5.9 per cent in 2018 to 8.83 per cent in 2021, while the national tree cover stands at 12.13 per cent above the constitutional target of 10 per cent.
Results generated from the National Forest Resources Assessment 2021, show that the country has 5,226,191.79ha of national forest cover, which represents 8.83 per cent of the total area.
Kiambu county is currently at 16 per cent forest cover, surpassing the national government's target of 10 per cent.
Noor said KFS is in the process of registering private nurseries with a view to ensuring the seedlings are certified with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute.
Noor said the move not only ensures the country knows the number of seedlings in such nurseries, but also certifies them.
“So far, we have about 1,200 that have registered. The country has more seedlings. The problem is that there is a lot of underreporting.”
Noor said the capacity for private nurseries is between 300 and 400 million, while that of KFS is over 100 million.
He urged those planting trees to upload them to the Jaza Miti app.
Ogonje said her organisation has rehabilitated about 60 hectares (148 acres) using about 60,000 tree seedlings that have been planted.
"In Mau, we have planted about 5,000, but we have planted more in Kinale Forest, where we have done about 50,000,” she said.
Ogonje said during the tree planting day, they managed to plant 15,000 seedlings, courtesy of the forest challenge.
“We hope this year to rehabilitate an additional 20 to 30 hectares from the proceeds that we are going to get from this forest challenge,” she said.
Ogonje said there has been a drop in the number of participants.
“This year is a little bit different compared to last year. Last year, we had many corporate organisations sponsoring the event, but we have seen a shift this year. More people are taking part in the participation category. We have also noted that there is a lot of cutback by corporate organisations in terms of their support,” she said.
Ogonje said they attribute the move to economic challenges in the country.
“We hope things will be different next year,” she said.
Ogonje said her organisation still remains with the challenge of rehabilitating 600 hectares (1,482 acres) which is about 50,000 tree seedlings.
She said working with community forest association is crucial as they are the ones who care for the seedlings, ensuring high survival rates.
“A lot of investments need to go to aftercare,” she said adding that trees should be looked at as investments for the future.
Kuria, on his part, said the event is crucial for the county.
“We have done a lot for the last eight years; we could be reaching more than a million now,” he said.
Kuria said his department has planted over 300,000 trees during short rains.