Kenya scrambles to meet 15 billion trees target as campaign lags

The government is racing against time to achieve its ambitious goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, with a renewed campaign tied to the short rains season.

Through the Jaza Miti initiative, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has expanded seedling production in collaboration with NGOs, corporate organisations, and community forest associations.

KFS Chief Conservator Alex Lemarkoko revealed that 846.8 million seedlings have been planted over the past two years, many of them tracked through the Jaza Miti digital platform to ensure transparency.

KFS has also upgraded its online reporting system and trained officers nationwide to support the programme. “In 2023/24, we supported seedling production in more than 300 government nurseries and partnered with community associations and private growers to ensure quality supply,” Lemarkoko said.

At the county level, an intensive awareness campaign is being rolled out in Baringo, Nakuru and Kericho to rally communities to take advantage of the rains.

However, progress has already fallen behind schedule.

By July, the Jaza Miti app showed 712.7 million seedlings planted, while later records placed the number at 846.8 million, inclusive of manually entered data.

To remain on track, Kenyans must now plant about 1.5 billion trees annually, translating to more than 4.1 million each day,  yet over 2.2 billion seedlings are already behind target.

Conservationists warn that public mobilisation remains inadequate.

“With so much rainfall, governments are doing little to rally people to plant on public and private land. If this continues, we’ll miss the target,” said Bomet-based activist Joseph Kones.

Uptake of seedlings for fragile areas such as riverbanks and wetlands has been notably low. In addition, understaffing at KFS and Nema has slowed the campaign, with prisoners enlisted to help in some regions.

Some environmental activists have accused political leaders of trivialising the effort. “They arrive in convoys, plant a few trees for cameras, then leave. That defeats the purpose,” said Monica Chelangat.

Still, fencing of forests, boundary marking and community participation have helped curb encroachment.

Amos Gathecha, who represented Head of Public Service Felix Koskei in Bomet, said the government is strengthening its policy approach: “We are targeting 200,000 trees this season in Chepalungu, on top of 500,000 last season.”

National Coordinator Suzan Boit noted that schools, hospitals and offices have become focal points for the exercise. Devolution PS Michael Lenasalon stressed the importance of community training to build climate resilience.

Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok said the county, which currently has 26 per cent tree cover, aims to plant 13.4 million trees this year, with nearly 5 million already in the ground.

The government is also integrating livelihood support into conservation through programmes like the Green Zones Development Programme, which connects tree planting with beekeeping and medicinal plants.