The government aims to establish Nairobi as an environmental hub for testing and disseminating solutions to the triple planetary crisis of nature loss, pollution, and climate change.
Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’oei plans to strengthen partnerships with world-renowned science institutions in Nairobi to achieve the dream.
“As a global leader in environment and climate action, including as the host of the United Nations Environment Programme, we are revitalising our environmental diplomacy efforts to make Nairobi the hub for environmental thought leadership, where solutions to the triple planetary crisis of nature loss, pollution and waste, and climate change are tested, piloted, and disseminated globally,” Sing’oei said.
He spoke at the Icraf (World Agroforestry Centre) on Wednesday in honor of World Food Day 2024.
Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme, Gertrude Angote, hosted the PS.
Sing’oei said the country is collaborating with leading science institutions in Nairobi, including Cifor-Icraf and the Stockholm Environment Institute, to leverage their scientific and technical expertise.
“I thus look forward to strengthening this collaboration.” The theme for this year’s World Food Day is “Right to Food for a Better Life and Future.”
Sing’oei said the government considers food security as a key priority for the country and set a specific objective of eradicating hunger (zero hunger) in the fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP) as part of the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), to achieve Sustainable Development Goals Goal 2.
“We are working to promote and increase investment in food production, storage, and distribution throughout the country,” Sing’oei stated.
“We recognise that deforestation and land degradation are major global issues that affect food security in Africa and Kenya.”
Sing’oei said the state has launched the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Programme (Towards Growing 15 Billion Trees) with the goal of restoring 10.6 million hectares of degraded landscapes and ecosystems and achieving 30 per cent tree cover by 2032.
The move aims to improve food security and livelihoods for millions of Kenyans, as well as promote climate resilience.
“A key factor in the success of the 15 billion trees programme is to assist Kenyans in planting the right tree in the right place at the right time, and we recognise and appreciate the support that Cifor-Icraf has extended to the government by providing tree seedlings and technical assistance for this programme.”