Kenya Surpasses 10 Percent Tree Cover
Kenya’s tree cover now stands at 12.13%, the latest forest assessment report recently launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta reveals.
The National Forest Resources Assessment 2021 Report also indicates that the National Forest cover stands at 8.83 per cent from 5.9% in 2018. The country is now working towards achieving a 30% tree cover by 2050.
Mangrove forests are among the most productive ecosystems on earth and serve many important functions such as; water filtration, prevention of coastal erosion, coastal protection from storms, carbon storage, and biodiversity protection, among others.
Due to the concern on the loss and degradation of mangrove ecosystems world-wide, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2015, adopted the proclamation of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem celebrated each year on 26th July.
The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems as “a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem” and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and utilisation.
In Kenya, this was marked for the first time in 2019 in Kwale followed respectively by Lamu and Mombasa Counties. Over 28,987,284 seedlings/propagules have been planted since the day was first marked.
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