The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to UN-Habitat Amb. Jean Kimani led members of staff of the Mission, members of the Diplomatic Corps in Nairobi and the local community of Lari Uplands in planting 1,000 tree seedlings at the Uplands forest in Kiambu. The initiative which is a partnership between the Kenya Mission to UN-Habitat and the Kenya Forest Service involves the adoption and greening by the Mission of one hectare of forest land.
This initiative is in furtherance of H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta’s vision and commitment to achieve a minimum of 10 percent forest cover by 2022 as part of the country’s efforts to address the challenge of climate change.
At the launching ceremony, various speakers underscored the importance & need to establish and protect forests with host, Mr. Thomas Kiptoo, County Conservator of Forest committing to ensure the planted trees will be well looked after. The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Ambassador of Eritrea H.E Beyene Russom cited the health benefits he had personally reaped as a result of being an active member of the Friends of Karura Forest for the past eleven years .The UN-Habitat Regional Office for African States head Mr. Oumar Syllah on behalf of the Executive Director showed clear linkages between forest health and resilience of towns and urban ecosystems.
The Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat Amb. Jean Kimani emphasized the Government of Kenya’s commitment to placing the Environmental sector as a key goal of the country’s vision 2030 adding that it centered on the need to conserve natural resources and to increase the forest cover.She also underscored the importance of Uplands as a source of water for Nairobi City residents, bringing to the fore the centrality of environmental stability in achieving livable ,inclusive,safe ,sustainable and resilient cities.