KFS to reclaim water catchment areas, restore forests

The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has embarked on a programme to reclaim, rehabilitate and conserve all the water catchment areas in the country.

Consequently, the agency intends to restore over 5.1 million hectares of ruined forests as it seeks to achieve at least its 10 per cent forest cover mission.

This has been necessitated by reduction of forest cover due to human activity and increased population, land use changes, corruption and loopholes in the law.

Speaking on Thursday while launching the programme, Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu said that restoring forests and landscapes, and the services they provide, is paramount to improving livelihoods of Kenyans.

“The programme we are launching today and the assessment therein which has identified where the opportunities for forest and landscape restoration are located, is an important starting point to achieving large scale changes in our landscapes that has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for millions of Kenyans,” said Prof Wakhungu.

Prof Wakhungu said the forestry sector contributes immensely to sustainable development and social stability.

She said conversion of forest lands into other uses and unsustainable utilization of forest resources were major contributors of deforestation and forest degradation.

“The government is determined to achieve landscape restoration and in that line has put in place strong policies and legislative instruments one being the Forest Act, 2016 which was passed last week to achieve a comprehensive forest restoration,” she said.

She called for a concerted efforts from relevant stakeholders in order to realize the set targets.

Africa is committed to restoring over 100 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by the year 2030 with 21 countries committing to restore 63.5 million hectares in the next six years and Kenya is the first country in Africa to come up with a programme towards that goal.