High forest cover will help improve climate change impact, says Kobia
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Professor Margaret Kobia has today said high forest cover will help improve the impact of climate change.
Kobia said Kenya, like other parts of the world, is experiencing the adverse effects of climate change.
“We are experiencing frequent changes in weather patterns that have led to extreme weather occurrences. Droughts, famines and flooding are becoming commonplace,” she said.
According to Kobia, for Kenya to increase forest cover by 2022, some 2 billion trees must be planted and nurtured which will require at least sh48 billion.
The annual cost of inaction is Sh168 billion over the strategy implementation period.
The CS said climate change is likely to negatively impact Kenya’s future development and achievement of the goals under Vision 2030 and the Big Four agenda which includes food and nutrition security, affordable and decent housing, manufacturing and universal healthcare.
“The increasing intensity and magnitude of weather-related disasters in the country have aggravated conflicts over natural resources such as pasture and water. This has negatively impacted security and national cohesion, which is prerequisite for national development,” Kobia said.
She said the fifth assessment report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of 2014 presented strong evidence that surface temperatures across Africa have increased over the past 100 years.
“Environmental scientists have advised that the only way such extreme occurrences can be stabilised is by planting trees,” she said.
The report says that Kenya has experienced a general warming trend of about 1 degree Celsius per decade since 1960 altering the frequency of extreme weather events.
“Any changes in weather patterns are significant as Kenya’s economy is dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, tourism, wildlife and health,” she added.
She warned that illegal logging, encroachment and over-exploitation, risk causing prolonged droughts.
PS Kimonye and Suda said that it is everyone’s responsibility to plant trees as we continue to deliver services despite difficult circumstances of Covid-19.
“We have a responsibility to bequeath the coming generation a country that is better than we found,” PS Kimonye said.
By Joy Kyalo
