Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks at the official opening of the two-day commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the United Nations Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, March 3, 2022. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday marked 50 years since its founding in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi where it is headquartered, with participants vowing to rally behind the vision for a green and inclusive future. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
NAIROBI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Environment and Forestry has launched the national Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) strategy to boost restoration of degraded land and indigenous forests.
Chris Kiptoo, principal secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said during a side event at the Special Session to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) underway in Nairobi that the strategy, launched on Thursday evening, will help in the sustainable management of forests, and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
Kiptoo said that Kenya's diverse natural resource base, in which the well-being of its people is firmly anchored, is, however, increasingly under pressure from evolving human activities and the aggravated impacts of global climate change, resulting in environmental degradation.
He said that Kenya has brought the private sector on board and so far they have made a pledge of contributing one billion tree seedlings towards the initiative that targets to increase forest cover in the country from the current 8.8 percent to 10 percent by the end of this year. The government has also pledged to contribute an additional one billion tree seedlings that will be produced by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI).
Kenya's national strategy seeks to achieve 10 percent tree cover to help restore degraded public forests, wetlands, mangroves and other neglected green places.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, director of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Sub-Saharan Africa called for a robust reforestation program in Africa to help the continent achieve environmental sustainability. Eziakonwa noted that the numerous environmental challenges on land, sea and air in Africa are a big threat to the future generation that required concerted efforts to tackle.
Tina Vahanen, deputy director of Forests at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said that the strategy will help reverse the current state of forests from unproductive practices to a profitable enterprise. Vahanen urged Kenya to use FAO's online tools that were developed to support communities that grow trees.
The REDD+ strategy provides a framework for improved forestry governance, resource allocation, partnerships and collaboration with state and non-state actors. It also emphasizes monitoring to enable the sector to contribute to the achievement of the country's growth within a sustainable environment framework.
It is expected that the strategy will lead to scaled-up afforestation, reforestation, and landscape restoration programs, enhanced governance and policy implementation to reduce the depletion of forests. ■
Delegates pose for a photo in front of an art installation depicting plastic bottles flowing from a tap at the UN Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, March 3, 2022. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday marked 50 years since its founding in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi where it is headquartered, with participants vowing to rally behind the vision for a green and inclusive future. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (3rd, R) unveils a commemorative plaque marking the official opening of two-day commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the UN Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, March 3, 2022. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday marked 50 years since its founding in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi where it is headquartered, with participants vowing to rally behind the vision for a green and inclusive future. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
Delegates attend the official opening of the two-day commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the United Nations Complex in Nairobi, Kenya, March 3, 2022. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday marked 50 years since its founding in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi where it is headquartered, with participants vowing to rally behind the vision for a green and inclusive future. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)