Kenyans get permission from government to plant 100 million trees

The government encourages every Kenyan to plant at least two seeds or seedlings. They can collect them from public nurseries and national parks, where there are 150 million seedlings ready. The government also hopes that every Kenyan will buy at least two seeds to plant on their land.

Obstacles

According to environmental activist Teresa Muthoni, the National Tree Planting Day is a “good idea”, but there are drawbacks, she said in a conversation with the BBC. For example, seeds are distributed in such a way that it is uncertain that everyone will actually be able to plant trees. Not all Kenyans can afford to miss a single day of work.

There is also criticism of the government advocating tree planting, while at the same time failing to combat illegal deforestation. Nairobi recently removed a ban on logging in public forests.

According to Minister Toya, the latter was necessary to meet local demand for timber and create jobs. Logging is still prohibited in other forests. According to her, only timber is cut in forests established for commercial purposes, about 5 percent of the total.

Heavy rain

No seeds were planted in northeastern Kenya on Monday. The country is currently experiencing heavy rainfall attributed to the El Niño climate phenomenon. Heavy rains led to floods that killed dozens of people. Thousands more were left homeless, and roads and bridges were destroyed or damaged. The northeast has been particularly hard hit.

British King Charles III, who visited Kenya last week, praised this initiative. “I have planted trees all my life,” the king said. “I thought I was fine, but I really admire your ambition to plant fifteen billion trees.”