Let's take advantage of long rains to increase forest cover

Students, Kenya Forest Service officers and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) officials plant trees at Orero Boys High School in Homa Bay County, on March 27, 2025.  [James Omoro, Standard]

The rains are pounding heavily, thanks to mother nature. This season of long rains is an opportunity for us to grow trees and improve our degraded landscapes, harvest rain water and increase food production. Trees are a common good and are important for the survival of human beings and animals. They significantly contribute to health, wellbeing, social and economic growth.

Forests sustainably provide environmental and cultural benefits for present and future generations. They support ecosystems by stabilising soils, provide habitat for wildlife, fill and revitalise rivers, provide food for humans and animals, absorb and filter stormwater, provide shade and lower temperatures. Trees reduce surface temperatures by up to 12 degrees.

Trees are carbon sinks and absorb harmful pollutants. During photosynthesis, they pull carbon dioxide out of the air, bind it up in sugar, and release oxygen. Trees use sugar to build wood, branches, and roots.

Medicinal trees contribute to health and wellbeing, while others provide food for human beings and animals. Forest bathing, a practice that is gaining traction, is therapeutic and can reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Hugging trees fosters connection with nature and with self.

Pollution and climate change which results in unpredictable weather patterns floods, prolonged droughts can be mitigated by more trees on our planet.

Sadly, trees face serious threats ranging from illegal logging, encroachment of forests, overgrazing, forest fires, pests and diseases. These threats erode the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems and reduce their capacity to provide environmental goods and services.

As Kenya grapples with climate change, deforestation and environmental degradation, the need to increase our forest cover is urgent. As of 2021, Kenya’s forest cover stood at 8.8 per cent, falling short of the minimum target of 10 per cent set by Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. In 2022, at the launch of the national programme for accelerated forestry and rangelands restoration, the government raised the tree cover target from 10 per cent to 30 per cent. The plan is to restore 10.6 million hectares of degraded land by planting 15 billion trees by 2032.

The initiative to boost forest cover aligns with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, highlighting a focus on environmental preservation, sustainability, and the commitments outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions. These actions are strategically aimed at supporting the broader goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, where the country has committed to a substantial 32 per cent reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030.

This ambitious plan is achievable. Investing additional resources, use of technology, further research and development will bring forth species of trees that are fast growing, friendly to the environment and survive harsh weather conditions. With these trees to increase Kenya’s forest cover, the vulnerability of communities to extreme weather will be reduced, hence increasing their resilience and their ability to adapt to the impact of climate change.

Government, donors, private sector, research institutions, academia and communities, including children and the youth, should increase and sustain ongoing efforts to increase Kenya’s forest cover.

Ms Muathe is a communications specialist