NAIROBI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government intends to leverage youth-led forest conservation initiatives in a bid to strengthen the capacity of grassroots communities to cope with the climate crisis, an official said Monday.
Joshua Cheboiwo, the Director of Kenya Forestry Research Institute, said that tapping into the youthful demographic will help the state achieve an ambitious 30 percent forest cover in the next decade and hasten green transition.
"Our policy as a government is to involve many youths in efforts to expand the forest cover and adapt to climate change. There are countless green jobs for the youth that will be generated through reforestation," said Cheboiwo.
He spoke during a forum on promoting the involvement of youth in sustainable forestry and livelihoods held in Voi town, located about 300 km southeast of Nairobi, Kenya's capital.
Kenya's forest cover, which is equivalent to 8.83 percent of the country's total landmass, contributes about 3.6 percent to the gross domestic product annually, besides providing 750,000 direct jobs to citizens, said Cheboiwo. ■