Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has directed all chiefs countrywide to conduct monthly tree-planting exercises.
In a statement on Monday, November 4, Omollo said the tree-planting exercise would be conducted on the first Friday of every month.
“On the first Friday of each month, Chiefs will mobilize communities in their Locations to plant and grow 1 million trees, moving us closer to the Presidential goal of 15 billion trees by 2032,” said Omollo.
The Interior PS noted that the move is part of the country’s effort to grow 15 billion trees by 2032 in line with President William Ruto’s directive.
Speaking during the launch of the Chiefs Climate Action Day, Omollo decried the adverse effects of climate change, including prolonged droughts and recurring floods in various parts of the country.
Omollo said climate change posed serious threats to national security and undermined peace initiatives, and called for concerted efforts to reverse the trend.
“Indeed, we recognize that peace, security, and climate change are closely linked. In Kenya, we face numerous climate-related risks to peace and security,” he noted.
He said prolonged droughts had caused conflicts among communities due to intensified competition for scarce resources such as water, pasture, and food. The arid and semi-arid regions like the North Rift, North Eastern, and Upper Eastern had witnessed conflicts as a result of harsh climatic conditions.
The Interior PS further said climate-induced migration had caused social tensions, citing Nairobi, where recurrent flooding along the Nairobi River had forced people from their homes. Such movements placed pressure on resources and increased the potential for unrest, he noted.
Dr. Omollo said the Chiefs-led initiative was part of the Government’s response to the pressing need for tailored early warning systems and information networks to address the country’s unique climate security challenges.
In the new scheme, the Interior Ministry will support each Chief to mobilize their communities and coordinate the planting of at least 250 tree seedlings on the first Friday of every month.
“This initiative activates the invaluable leadership of our chiefs across the nation, who will mobilize and coordinate at the grassroots level to ensure the success of climate interventions within their communities,” said the PS.
He said Chiefs were best placed to support the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda which places the most basic units of society at the center of all State interventions.
The Interior PS said his State Department has since grown 99 million trees almost hitting the yearly target issued by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
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