Narok,

Tuesday March 21, 2023

K.N.A

By Ann Salaton

Narok County Deputy Governor Tamalinye Koech has on Tuesday led Narok residents in planting tree seedlings, as the World commemorates World Forest Day.

Koech who spoke at Ongata Primary School compound during a tree planting event asked locals to take advantage of the ongoing rainfall to plant trees in their farms and institutions.

“I am here today to plant trees with you because I want to encourage you to plant them so that we can attain the 15 billion trees cover in ten years period as directed by President William Ruto,” he said.

Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde who spoke from his office called upon village elders, chiefs and the Nyumba Kumi representatives to sensitise residents on taking advantage of the ongoing rains to plant trees.

This year, the commissioner said, the county has planted about 80, 000 trees in various parts of the county and will plant more as the rains continue to pound most parts of the county.

“In December, we planted 30, 000 trees at the Maasai Mau forest during the launch of the tree planting exercise. We encourage every resident to plant trees in their homes and institutions,” said Masinde.

Narok County Conservator Daniel Mkung said the tree coverage in the county was currently at 16 per cent but had a target of attaining 30 percent tree cover by the end of ten years.

He encouraged well-wishers and institutions to take a block each at the Maasai Mau forest saying about 30 blocks, each covering one square kilometer, are yet to be planted.

 Already, he said, about 3.1 million trees have been planted at the Maasai Mau forest since the government evicted people from the forest land in 2019.

He took issue with charcoal burners and loggers saying they are a big threat to forests in the country.

“One bag of charcoal will require someone to cut down more than one tree. We encourage people to use alternative sources of energy so as to conserve the environment,” said Mkung.

Courtesy K.N.A