A project called the “Cheptais Forest Reforestation Project” aims to plant 600,000 trees in the Cheptais Forest in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County, in order to save the water catchment area. The initiative is being led by the East Africa Infrastructure Platform (EAIP), in line with President William Ruto’s goal to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 and increase Kenya’s forest cover to 30%. The project is supported by the Bungoma-based NGO Cheptais Community Forest Association (CCFA), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the Ministry of Energy, KenGen Foundation, and the Danish Embassy. Since the project’s launch in 2021, over 60,000 seedlings have been planted, with a total investment of over Sh12 million. The second phase of the project will involve planting 5,500 trees over five hectares.
The trees are crucial in the fight against climate change as they absorb carbon from the atmosphere and help communities and ecosystems withstand extreme weather conditions. Additionally, they play a role in reducing floods, lowering temperatures, and providing food. The Cheptais Forest, one of Kenya’s five water towers, serves as a catchment area for the drainage systems of Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana, and the Turkwel hydropower plant. Protecting the forest is vital for economic activities such as fishing, water transport, and tourism.
The EAIP’s CEO, George Njenga, emphasized the need for public-private engagement and involvement of local communities in forest conservation efforts. The project also aims to promote economic activities that do not harm the trees, such as beekeeping. Njenga mentioned the use of carbon markets as a potential strategy to accelerate reforestation by allowing companies or individuals to purchase carbon credits to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite facing challenges such as a lack of rainfall, the project’s impact is expected to be significant, contributing to biodiversity restoration, water catchment conservation, and climate change mitigation. CCFA members and KFS representatives have actively participated in the project, and the hope is that other organizations will join in and adopt more land for reforestation. The ultimate goal is to restore the Cheptais Forest for the benefit of current and future generations.
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