PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA ON A NAIROBI ARBORETUM TOUR
President Uhuru Kenyatta toured Nairobi Arboretum on June 5, 2020, to mark World Environment Day, observed on the 5th of June every year, and has been celebrated for the last 45 years.
President Kenyatta promised to expand the number and size of conservancies, arboreta, parks and wildlife reserves to ensure the country’s botanical and zoological diversity is maintained. “We are also reclaiming our Ngong Forest and we are going to start the process of fencing it and ensuring that it is also available not only for the present but for future generations. “We have done in the last one month another 2,000 acres for Nairobi National Park and this is what we want to continue doing including restoration of various green areas among them rehabilitation of City Park,” the President stated.
As part of the Government’s conservation agenda, the President said all major infrastructure projects including the Standard Gauge Railway are being implemented in a manner that ensures that biodiversity is not tampered with. “As a Government, we have also taken steps to ensure that the infrastructure projects being implemented, which are a key driver of economic growth, do not cause any degradation to our natural habitats and biodiversity,” President Kenyatta said. He urged Kenyans to emulate the late Professor Wangari Maathai’s passion and achievements in the conservation of the environment. He underscored the key role forests play as a reservoir of biodiversity, adding that Kenya is on course to achieving the 10 percent national tree cover target
During the event, the Head of State, led government and private sector representatives in a tree planting exercise to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day. He also witnessed the ground-breaking for the development of a borehole that will assist in the setting up of a one million tree nursery in the park.
The President called for closer cooperation between government entities, the private sector and local communities saying such collaborations have enabled Kenya to register a fall in wildlife poaching incidents, illegal logging and human-wildlife conflicts. Commending on the conservation projects being undertaken in Nairobi County, the President urged Governor Mike Sonko to work very closely with the Nairobi Metropolitan Service team led by Major General Mohamed Badi to ensure quick turnaround of the interventions.
In his speech, the KFS Board Chairman Mr Peter Kinyua noted the work being undertaken to increase tree cover to 10 percent by 2022 whereby over five million trees have been planted countrywide in the last two months. He commended various partners for contributing to tree growing and forest conservation and thanked Athi Water Works Development Agency for drilling the borehole. The Chief Conservator of Forests Mr. Julius Kamau committed to leading the Service in securing all public forests and increasing green spaces including Hon John Michuki Memorial Park, Ngong Road Forest among others.
Presents were Environment Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo, KFS Board Chairman Peter Kinyua, the Chief Conservator of Forests Julius Kamau, NACFA Chairperson, Brian Waruhiu, Nairobi Governor Mike, Sonko, European Union Ambassador Simion Mordue, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and the Ambassador of Finland Eric Lindberg, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Mohamed Badi among others
