Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has said 14 million trees were planted during the National Tree Growing Day marked on May 10.
He said the government will not relent on the whole-of-nation approach towards tackling the ravages of climate change.
"The Executive Office of the President under the headship of Chief of Staff & Head of the Public Service is accelerating the President's ambition of growing 15 billion trees by 2032 in conformity with the govt's National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy," he said.
Mwaura joined the tree planting exercise of over 3,000 trees at Menengai Integrated Primary School in Nakuru, where his office is also marking the inaugural Uzalendo Day.
He noted that the highest numbers of trees were planted in Machakos County at 6,075,129 and Nairobi County at 5,131,992.
According to CS for Climate Change and Forestry Soipan Tuya, the government had set an ambitious target of planting one billion trees.
The government had hoped every adult would plant at least 50 seedlings on the day, and 10 for every child.
To demonstrate the government’s frontline role in the 15 billion National Tree Growing Programme, each CS was assigned specific sites as per Cabinet directive.
On Thursday, Mwaura said the government is committed to accelerating the achievement of 30 per cent tree cover by 2032 since trees and forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change.
“To reach this goal, the government has developed a National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy, to restore the 10.6 million hectares of degraded landscapes and ecosystems by 2032,” he noted.
