Nyeri: The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is partnering with the State Department of Energy and Community Forest Associations (CFAs) in a major reforestation exercise around the Mount Kenya and Aberdare Forest circuit. Nyeri County Forest Conservator Esther Mugo says they are replenishing the degraded areas with both indigenous and fast maturing exotic trees as part of KFS efforts of increasing forest cover around the expansive forest circuit.
According to Kenya News Agency, KFS has managed to distribute close to 1 million tree seedlings within the county, with more than 800,000 seedlings having been planted in Kieni East and Kieni West areas. Mugo encourages the public to incorporate both exotic trees and fruit-bearing trees in their farms during the ongoing heavy rains. These efforts are part of the Government’s goal of increasing the country’s forest cover to 30 percent by 2032 by planting 15 billion seedlings.
“We have about 320 hectares that we are establishing under a plantation. We also have an area under rehabilitation for degraded forest areas which is totaling to about 100 hectares. We are also partnering with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum where we have planted a total of 840,000 seedlings in Kieni West and Kieni East. These areas have vast parcels of land where the farmers can establish woodlots and carry out other agroforestry practices,” Mugo told KNA.
In addition, KFS has involved the Nyeri County government in managing forest resources registered as community and private lands as part of the Government’s environmental conservation efforts. Mugo highlighted that rehabilitation of degraded forests is done with fast-growing exotic tree species like eucalyptus, cypress, and pines. Farmers are encouraged to include fruit trees that can be integrated with crops.
Earlier this year, the Conservator disclosed that KFS intended to rehabilitate 400 acres of Gathiro Forest that had been devastated by wildfires in January. The projection is to replenish the affected areas with indigenous trees as part of KFS efforts to increase forest cover around the Mount Kenya forest circuit.
Mugo cautioned the public against igniting controlled fires in farms, attributing them to the frequent fires often reported in forested areas during the dry season. The Gathioro forest station, which was burnt within the Mount Kenya region, saw about 160 hectares affected. In the ongoing rains, the expectation is that the whole area will be under tree cover.
Forest cover and tree cover in Nyeri stand at 40.17 percent and 45.89 percent, respectively, according to the National Forest Resources Assessment Report of 2021, with Mount Kenya and Aberdare forming the main water towers in the county. Nyeri county has over 3,000,000 plantable seedlings, both indigenous and exotic, expected to be planted by the end of the rainy season.
Nyeri is one of the six County Conservation areas within the Central Highlands Regional Conservation area. The total gazetted forest area in the county stands at 115,435.14 ha, with Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Ranges forming the two major forest ecosystems. The Mount Kenya ecosystem covers 64,470.92 ha, while the Aberdare ecosystem covers 50,964.22 ha.