By Emmanuel Juma
We are living in very desperate times where everybody is trying to do the best they can to survive. Care for the environment has become a foreign concept for most people as they continue to indiscriminately degrade it in an attempt to make a living. Nature which is very unforgiving continues to suffer in silence as it wonders how we will handle the shock that awaits us. There are already serious symptoms pointing to the effects of an overstretched ecosystem. Governments and international communities are moving with speed to try and alleviate the repercussions of our own undoing. Issues of climate change have become so apparent that everyone is worried about the kind of planet we are going to bequeath to future generations.
Do we have answers to these problems? Yes, we do! A problem whose cause is known is on its way to being solved. We just need to be honest with ourselves and do the necessary- be kind to the environment. If we cannot feed the cow, we have no justification for milking it. It is high time we started doing the simple things that matter.
The government of Kenya through the Kenya Forest Service came up with a project dubbed the National Tree Planting Campaign (NTPC) that would see the country attain a 10% forest cover by 2022. This is one of the remedial strategies to restore our green cover. To achieve such an ambitious target in a country that is 80% arid and semi-arid (ASAL) it will require a lot of concerted efforts from both public and private sectors. A lot is happening in this respect but there is a great need for contextualizing the efforts from a localized sense. As the national and county government agencies continue to rally us to plant 1.8 billion trees by next year, we have to be extremely committed to this course.
Planting these trees has several beneficial effects apart from helping to fight climate change and reduce global warming. Below are some of the economic benefits:
- Planting of fruit trees such as avocado, mangoes, oranges among others provide food which can be consumed by families and the surplus sold for income. We need to plant these trees with an intention of meeting the huge demand that the market offers.
- Fast maturing trees like eucalyptus can be planted on dedicated parcels of land. Within a period of 5-10 years these trees are ready for selling. Bulk selling of these trees offers very good returns. One can then reforest the parcels of land.
- Trees offer cheap source of fuel to families. One does not need to cut the whole tree but only prune old branches.
- Some trees such as River Tamarind also known as Leuceana offer good forage for livestock. It is a good agroforestry tree.
- Establishing of tree seedlings is an economic activity most young people can tap into. These nurseries are going to provide the billions of seedlings demanded by both public and private sector.
No one can go wrong by planting trees. You just need to start where you are. The best time to plant a tree is now. One of the best ways of demonstrating selflessness is planting trees under whose shade you may never sit.
The writer is the founder of Ficus Landscapers, a company that promotes care for the environment. You can connect with Ficus Landscapers on Facebook.
Refresh 