Preparations for a major afforestation  exercise targeting to have  200,000 seedlings planted in Murang’a County during this year’s Mazingira Day have entered high gear, with authorities identifying about 97 hectares of land for the exercise.

The County Committee coordinating the exercise has identified two sites where the trees will be planted, with approximately 200 acres located on Del Monte land and a further 42 acres on land owned by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Authority (KARLO).

The exercise is part of a nationwide initiative in which Murang’a is among 32 counties expected to plant 200,000 seedlings each within one hour on October 10, as Kenya seeks to set a record for the largest number of trees planted simultaneously within the period.

 Speaking during a preparatory meeting, Tuesday, Murang’a County Commissioner, Hassan Bule, said efforts were underway to mobilize about 6,700 people required to participate in the exercise.

Bule said the success of the initiative would depend on effective coordination among national and county government agencies, private landowners, community organizations and other stakeholders.

 “We are working to ensure that all the required personnel will be available on the day of the exercise. This is a major undertaking and we need all stakeholders to combine efforts to ensure that it succeeds,” said Bule.

He urged partners to support the exercise by providing personnel and logistical assistance, noting that the massive undertaking would require adequate preparation before the actual tree planting day.

 County Forest Conservator, Ms Eunice Njoroge, said the Department had already identified tree species that were suitable for the different planting sites.

 “We are currently mobilizing the tree species to be planted on that day. We hope that before the exercise, all the required seedlings will have been mobilized,” she said.

Njoroge called on development partners, private sector players, community groups and other stakeholders to support the exercise, saying preparations involved more than simply providing seedlings.

She said the county needed support in digging planting holes, clearing bushes, transporting seedlings to the designated sites and ensuring that the seedlings were properly planted.

The exercise is part of Kenya’s broader national tree-growing and landscape restoration programme, which seeks to increase tree cover and restore degraded ecosystems.

The State Department for Environment and Climate Change lists coordination of the national tree-growing campaign among its functions.

 The national programme targets large-scale restoration of degraded forests and landscapes, with government plans providing for billions of seedlings to be produced and planted over the coming years.

Kenya has also set an ambitious national target of increasing tree cover through the growing of 15 billion trees and restoration of 10.6 million hectares of degraded forests and rangelands by 2032.

The tree-growing campaign is aimed at enhancing environmental conservation, restoring degraded landscapes, protecting water catchment areas and strengthening the country’s resilience to the effects of climate change.

Njoroge said the county would also focus on ensuring that the trees planted during the exercise survive, stressing that the initiative should go beyond the one-day planting activity to include nurturing and protection of the seedlings.

The county administration has therefore appealed to residents and participating organizations to take ownership of the trees after planting to ensure that the ambitious target translates into long-term environmental benefits.

by Bernard Munyao