Monday November 13 was the designated National day for Tree Planting in Kenya. By the powers conferred by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Interior and National coordination, the day was designated by gazette notice in observance of the same. And as is characteristic with Kenyans on social media, the same was received with joy as well as the occasional humor and wit.
So, what is the day about? For starters, it is not any of the national holiday’s recognized under the constitution so what necessitated it? Well, to begin, the world is currently at a crossroad between further industrialization and global gas emissions and the impact it has on climate change whose effects are massive and catastrophic.
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The current forest cover is 12% of the total land area, a slight improvement from the 7% cover a decade ago. But to achieve this, hard and often painful decisions had to be made including reclaiming of grabbed forest land, eviction of squatters from the Mau Forest as well as designating certain regions as protected arears of indigenous forests.
Benefits of Tree planting
What’s more, the importance of forests in curbing greenhouse emissions cannot be understated since the role of trees in the natural filtration of air is a well-known process. Trees absorb carbon (iv) oxide and other impurities in the air and in return provide oxygen which is the breathable air we survive on. And as global populations rise, there is an increased pressure by governments and corporations to provide resources to sustain these populations. From electricity, gas, internet the list is endless and this calls for more industrialization.
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As the industries expand, the global carbon emissions shall also increase. Recently, it was reported by various media that Kenya had sold 2.2 million carbon credits to Saudi Arabia. This in a nutshell means that for a certain period Kenya has ceded its rights for industrialization in favour of Saudi Arabia. As such, Saudi Arabia shall continue with its industrialization plans unimpeded even at the threat of global annihilation which is evident through changing weather patterns and weather-related catastrophes.
We can do better
These catastrophes include hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, droughts, floods and heat waves which have become all too common they are no longer newsworthy. Therefore, it is imperative for the country to take this as a sign of bad days ahead and take proactive steps to curb the effects of climate change. I applaud the government for the initiative of having a national tree planting exercise. However, just like in my years in primary school where tree planting was a norm rather than an exercise, we can do much better by creating a culture of environmental protection where every citizen plays his part in conserving it.
Overall, the goal is to attain 150 million trees in a day but just imagine how much more this would be if the same was done say once a month? We would surpass this target and go on to achieve great forest coverage even beyond global standards. Additionally, we would lead by great example as an ecofriendly environment suitable for habitation and existence of all living species. We only have one world, earth, so let us conserve it diligently.
