Forestry Principal Secretary Gitonga Mugambi now says that partnerships are an integral part to achieving the country’s 15 billion trees target, by 2032.
Speaking at a Nairobi hotel where World Vision Kenya hosted a national stakeholders’ conference for Restore East and Southern Africa (RESAF) programme, Mugambi welcomed the active involvement of non-state institutions including the private sector.
He said the government is keen on leveraging partnerships to accelerate the climate action and livelihoods initiative.
"The role of partners like RESAF cannot be overstated. Their work in restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded land and improving the livelihoods of 250,000 smallholder farmers and pastoral households aligns with our national restoration goals.
"We see immense potential in expanding these partnerships and call on other organizations, private sector actors, and civil society groups to emulate RESAF’s contributions toward our 15 billion tree-growing target," Mugambi said.
He went on to say that restoration of the ecosystem goes beyond planting trees to include landscape planning, community engagement, policy alignment and creating incentives for participation that include green businesses and employment opportunities.
The PS added that Kenya has prioritised agroforestry in the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy because it integrates trees into farming systems.
He said this helps in halting degradation while meeting the agricultural needs that include food security and income generation.
"Kenyan communities have already demonstrated this balance by combining agriculture with forestry in their daily practices," Mugambi added.
"The National Agroforestry Strategy which will soon be finalized, will guide our efforts to promote agroforestry development for sustainable land use, enhanced ecosystem goods and services, and improved livelihoods.”
Mugambi further noted that Kenya's emerging carbon markets hold immense potential to support the country's growing climate finance needs.
Through the 10-year initiative that seeks to raise Kenya's tree cover to 30 per cent by 2032, PS Mugambi said the government seeks to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss.
RESAF is a farmer-led integrated land restoration and livelihoods improvement programme that aims to capture carbon from the atmosphere to combat the effects of climate change.
It is implemented by the Global EverGreening Alliance in six Eastern and Southern Africa countries including Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
RESAF aims to restore 1.8 million hectares of degraded land and support more than 1.5 million households while sequestering over 80 million tons of carbon.
