BY RITA MUTHONI
Environmental stakeholders are targeting the restoration of 400 hectares of degraded land in the Mount Kenya region by equipping 4,000 young people with tree-growing and environmental conservation skills under the second phase of the Green Rising Project.
The two-year initiative, being implemented in Embu, Kilifi, Machakos and Kajiado counties, will train 400 youth champions who will in turn reach an additional 4,000 young people to support land restoration and tree-growing activities.
Speaking during the launch of the second phase in Embu town, Rainforest Alliance Senior Associate for Natural Resources Management Ivy Okutoyi said the programme also aims to support the growing of more than 200,000 tree seedlings across the four counties.
Okutoyi said the project will work with members of the Kenya Scouts Association and the Mount Kenya Sustainable Landscape Management Board to equip the youth champions with skills that they will cascade to other young people in their communities.
The initiative will place particular emphasis on Embu, where the first phase was implemented in the rangelands of Mbeere North and Mbeere South constituencies and Mwea Sub-County.
Okutoyi said the second phase has now been extended to Embu East following the success of the first phase and growing interest in environmental restoration activities.
She said the programme seeks to address the effects of climate change while improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities by creating opportunities for young people to participate in environmental conservation.
Mount Kenya Sustainable Landscape Management Board representative Vera Murugi urged young people in Embu to form groups and take advantage of opportunities created through the project.
Murugi said the project would also purchase tree seedlings from the youth as they undertake restoration activities, providing them with an opportunity to generate income while contributing to environmental conservation.
Embu County Director of Agriculture Patrick Njeru said the county government would continue creating an enabling environment for partnerships supporting development, urging residents to embrace the growing of fruit trees to strengthen food security.
Deputy County Commissioner for Embu Stephen Githinji Wamahiu said the initiative could provide green employment opportunities for young people while complementing government efforts to increase the country’s tree cover.
He commended the collaboration among the stakeholders, saying it had contributed to efforts to improve tree cover in the county during the previous season.
The Kenya Forest Service in Embu West Sub-County also pledged to work with the partners, noting that the project supports efforts to increase forest cover in the county, currently standing at 11.42 per cent.
Embu County Kenya Scouts Association Chairperson Elidah Nyagah pledged to ensure proper utilisation of funds allocated to the association, saying accountability would remain central to implementation of the project.
The Green Rising Project is funded by UNICEF and implemented through a partnership involving the Mount Kenya Sustainable Landscape Management Board, Rainforest Alliance and Kenya Scouts Association.
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