The State Department for Mining has spearheaded the planting of 10,000 tree seedlings at Alupe University in Busia County, as part of activities to increase forest cover and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Speaking after the exercise, State Department for Mining administrator Raphael Okoth said the initiative was also aimed at restoring land affected by mining activities.

“As the Department of Mining, we are involved in tree planting to promote sustainable mining activities. We ensure that every mining contract provides for proper rehabilitation of the land after mining activities to restore it to its original state,” said Okoth.

He said the 10,000 seedlings were planted on 10 acres within the university compound with the participation of members of the local community.

Okoth called for increased tree planting across Busia County, saying low tree and forest cover was contributing to the harsh weather conditions being experienced in the region.

“The climatic changes affecting our country call for more tree planting. The situation we are witnessing in Busia of harsh weather conditions is partly a result of low tree and forest cover, which we need to address,” he said.

Busia County Inspector of Mines Rodi Persica said the county currently has two active gold mining sites at Ojamii and Bumutiru.

“We currently have two active gold mining sites at Ojamii and Bumutiru. We conduct periodic inspections to assess the safety of miners and the surrounding communities,” said Persica.

She said the water shortage was among the challenges associated with mining activities in the areas and that efforts were being made to recycle the water for domestic use.

Busia County Forest Conservator Jared Bitange said the county was targeting to plant 180,000 trees during this year’s Mazingira Day celebrations in Port Victoria, Bunyala Sub-County.

“This is a build-up activity towards Mazingira Day, where as a county we are targeting 180,000 trees in Port Victoria, Bunyala Sub-County,” said Bitange.

He said Busia’s tree cover currently stood at 8.9 per cent, an improvement from the previous level, but called for increased participation by residents to achieve the national target of 30 per cent tree cover by 2032.

“Our tree cover in the county will be contributed by trees planted in farms and institutions because we only have one gazetted forest. We are calling on the public to take the initiative of planting trees at their homes so that we can also mitigate the effects of climate change,” he said.

Prof. Stephen Manya of Alupe University said the institution was planting a variety of trees, including fruit trees, to conserve the environment and provide nutritional benefits to students.

“We have more than 300 mango trees in our compound, and today we have planted more. We expect that by 2030, we will have many mangoes for our students to eat.

We also have other fruit trees that will be nutritious to our learners, while other trees will help provide a better environment for learning,” he said.

By Salome Alwanda and Rodgers Omondi