The Ministry of Environment has moved in to ensure long-lasting solutions to forest fires that have continued to wreak havoc in the country.
The ministry has entered into a partnership with the government of France to ensure the respective departments across the different forest ecosystems are equipped with modern firefighting satellites and facilities.
Environment Cabinet Secretay Soipan Tuya said this will enable the Kenya Forest Service to detect early warning signing and prevent any possible fire outbreaks.
“The forest fires crisis is taking a toll on everybody currently and we are at a point where we are fast losing our already degraded forest cover and ecosystems,” she said.
“We can be able to do early detection of the fires and respond accordingly but the situation at the moment is under control, however, we have new fires that keep coming up every other day.”
KFS and KWS top management officials are concerned with fire incidents in their various jurisdictions.
KWS acting director general Erustus Kanga said fire incidents have been experienced in Ruma National Park, Hell’s gate, Mount Kenya National Park and Mount Elgon.
“We have however managed to suppress fires in Ruma, Hell’s gate and Mount Elgon,” Kanga said.
“We are doing our best to manage the situation with the little resources we have.”
He said the emergency kitty is helping the service deal with the inferno.
The acting DG said the service is working hard to put up firebreaks, especially in Aberdares which is most affected by the fire.
