The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry has shared preliminary Forest Landscape Restoration results from the economic and financial analyses conducted.
Some of the results shared were from a study conducted by the AREECA programme in Amboseli-Tsavo landscapes and coastal areas of Kwale County.
Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is the ongoing process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes.
The ministry also held a landscape restoration forum and in partnership with the Alliance for Restoration of Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems in Africa (AREECA), World Bank, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Tsavo Heritage Foundation, they aim at scaling up financing for forest landscape restoration in Kenya.
Speaking during the forum at Trademark Hotel, Nairobi on Thursday, PS State Department for Wildlife Silvia Museiya said the government is putting resources at the centre of national development.
"We have done a proper mapping of all the resources in the country. We need to think about how to do the conservation of the natural resources," she said.
Museiya said communities should not be left out in the conservation since they play an important role in the restoration of the ecosystem.
Some of the results from Kwale showed that for mangrove forests, gain and losses can be detected.
The total potential area for restoration is only 293.06 hectares.
Museiya said with the help of the communities, the animals can be allowed to move freely without interference and restore the ecosystem.
She said the work should not be left to non-state actors and organisations.
"It is important to come into a landscape and ecosystem so as to consider the main priorities," Museiya said.
A study on the forest landscape restoration corridor showed that Makueni, Tsavo and Kwale form a forest landscape restoration corridor, in a biodiversity hotspot area bridging the East and West Tsavo National Parks.
The study said it includes important water towers and river systems.
"The challenge is increasing land degradation and human-wildlife conflicts exacerbated by climate change," the study stated.
Naomi Njihia from the Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancy Association said it is good to create inclusivity by getting to know where the communities want to come in.
"Communities play a great role in monitoring the trees planted. Their lives rotate around nature and by including them they feel honoured. They are able to identify some of the species that are able to do well in the area and those that can't," she said.
Ruth Tiffer from the World Bank said scaling up landscape restoration in Kenya is important.
"Kenya is highly dependent on natural capital and loss of natural resources including biodiversity affects growth," she said.
"Forest landscape restoration corridor is aimed at assessing business models for sustainable landscape restoration modalities."
She said the World Bank finances several projects with FLR interventions in Kenya.
"World Bank has financed locally-led climate Action Program amounting to 168,80 million dollars under the Treasury and Marine fisheries and socio-economic development project of 1oo million dollars with the state department of fisheries and blue economy," she said.
The two-day forum will delve into the FLR strategies, approaches and challenges for landscape restoration that align with the government's agenda of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
They will also reveal best practice examples for successful financial mechanisms that power remarkable ecosystem restoration initiatives worldwide.
