NAIROBI, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has launched a new initiative aimed at promoting the planting of bamboo trees along the Nzoia River basin in western Busia County.
This project, funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences through its Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, is designed to control flooding, enhance climate resilience, and improve food security for local communities, as well as to restore the ecological health of the Nzoia River, a major tributary of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater body.
Titled "Ecosystem Restoration for Enhancing Livelihoods and Addressing Climate Change: China-Kenya Cooperation on Bamboo Technology Transfer," the project is implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program's affiliated International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP).
The launch event, held on Thursday, was attended by senior government officials, scientists, farmers, and environmental advocates. Key partners in the bamboo plantation initiative include the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, the Wildlife Research and Training Institute of Kenya, and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology.
Dan Opilio, director of climate change in Busia County, emphasized that expanding bamboo acreage offers a sustainable, nature-based solution to the persistent flooding issues plaguing the Nzoia River basin.
"The bamboo agroforestry project will act as a buffer against flooding, restore biodiversity along Nzoia river basin, and transform livelihoods of local communities through mixed cropping," Opilio said.
UNEP-IEMP Program Manager Wang Guoqin highlighted the project's potential to regenerate the Nzoia River basin and enhance its resilience to climate-related shocks while curbing biodiversity loss.
The project will showcase China's expertise in ecological restoration through bamboo while facilitating skills and technology transfer to foster a vibrant bamboo industry in Keny, said Wang, adding that local farmers and fishermen will receive training on establishing bamboo nurseries, planting, and managing the trees until maturity, which will help stabilize the riverbank ecosystem, sequester carbon, and provide wildlife habitats.
Judith Nyunja, a senior scientist from the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, noted that large-scale bamboo cultivation offers a cost-effective and sustainable approach to managing recurrent floods that have exacerbated poverty, displacement, and disease outbreaks in the area.
Kenya's national bamboo policy aligns with the government's ambitious goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, which aims to restore degraded forests and freshwater bodies, said Nyunja, emphasizing that this initiative will significantly contribute to achieving that objective. ■