Envoys set for Mau tree planting

A number of envoys are expected in the Mau Friday to plant trees in a show of support for government’s efforts to conserve Kenya’s biggest water tower.

British High Commissioner to Kenya Rob Macaire will lead the diplomats in the re-afforestation exercise in Mariashoni area, Eastern Mau.

The envoys are expected to be joined by Miss Kenya, Fiona Konchella who hopes to rally the youth in conserving Kenya’s forests, attract international support and mobilise funds.

A report from Interim Coordinating Secretariat which is headed by Mr Noor Hassan Noor, who will be in Mr Macaire’s team, indicated that the team had hired people to assist in watering more than 20,000 seedlings planted in Mau two weeks ago.

There is also provision for 24-hour security guard.

The Noor team is, however, appealing for more funds and calling for more partnership for the restoration of the 400,000 hectares Mau Forest.

Ms Konchella said the youth should take charge of their future and  get involved with saving the Mau and other water towers.

“The roots of the trees that are now going down to destruction run deep into the very culture that we boast off. It is within the environment and indeed the forest that we get most of our traditional beauty products, where I come from  there used to be  leaves to treat and even heal any disease or ailment. However with the destruction of our forest this is quickly fading,” she said.

“When Kenyans die because of hunger and environmental destruction it ceases to be political game and begins to become an affair that needs serious action.”

The Eastern Mau, where the envoys will plant trees, and South West Mau are main catchment areas of Sondu River, Mara River, Lake Nakuru and Molo River.

The catchments are critical for power generation at the multi-billion Sondu Miriu power plant, the vast tea estates in Kericho, tourism and wildlife in Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Serengeti and Lake Baringo.

Protecting and restoring the highland forests of Eastern Mau will not only save the biodiversity of the unique mountains, but also protect and promote water supplies for the surrounding lowland areas, including Nakuru and Masai Mara.

Mau is Kenya’s largest indigenous forest in East Africa and Kenya’s biggest water tower with several rivers originating from it. They include Ewaso Ng’iro, Sondu, Mara and Njoro and its encroachment has led to the drying up of several lakes in the Rift Valley, which solely fed on its waters.

Mau’s strategic importance lies in the ecosystem services it provides to Kenya and beyond, including the regulation of river flow, flood mitigation, water storage, reduced soil erosion and biodiversity.

It’s continued destruction therefore threatens to cause a water crisis of immense proportions that could extend far beyond the borders of Kenya.

Two weeks ago, Prime minister Raila Odinga, who has spearheaded efforts to reclaim the water tower, led a high powered team of government officials, including eleven cabinet ministers in planting trees in the Molo area of Mau.