Kenya Pipeline, KFS team up to restore mangroves, protect oil transit routes
Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conserve public forests and protect oil pipelines that pass along areas of the forest reserves.
The partnership, according to KPC, seeks to bolster key public forest reserves under threat of destruction and also secure the transportation of fuel through sections of the protected forests along the pipeline.
According to the Managing Director Joe Sang (pictured), the parastatal targets to grow half a million seedlings by June 2024 and five million trees in the next 10 years across the Nation in support of the Green Agenda.
He said, the “Adopt-a-Forest” initiative has enabled them to adopt 250 hectares of forest nationwide for rehabilitation as they target to achieve the ambitious 30 per cent tree cover by 2032 as was set by the President.
Mangrove seedlings
Sang was speaking during mangrove tree planting event at Jomvu Creek where 440 mangrove seedlings were planted. The event was attended by staff from KPC and KFS and members of the Jomvu Creek Community among other players.
Kenya has committed to restoring 5.1 million hectares by 2030. In view of this, the country developed the Forest and Landscape Restoration Implementation Plan 2023-2027 targeting to restore 3.5 million hectares by 2027.
In 2022, President William Ruto scaled up the initial commitment of restoring 5.1 million hectares to 10.6 million hectares through the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy.
Sang noted that the partnership aims to restore vital mangrove habitats and explore the establishment of nurseries to boost seedling production which will bolster the local ecosystem. “The benefits of mangroves are immense in Jomvu Creek, attracting fish, honey harvesting and job creation are just but a few of what mangroves benefit the community,” Sang said.
During the MoU signing, Sang commended KFS for their unwavering support which has made their restoration efforts more effective as they are fully committed to the 15 billion tree-growing campaign.
Chief Conservator of Forests of Kenya Forest Service, Alex Lemarkoko acknowledged the KPC’s dedication to tree-growing programmes and the decision to restore mangroves.
He noted that there have been challenges necessitating the collaboration of both institutions to address them, including ensuring the security of the pipeline section within the forest, which calls for a combined effort.
“We urge other institutions despite their nature of work to embrace the tree-growing culture to support conservation and achieve the 15 billion tree-growing campaign collectively as a country,” Lemarkoko said.
He said that the government has been very supportive of this initiative by increasing the number of rangers and foresters, hence urging citizens to also actively participate in the tree conservation efforts. “We have over 61,000 hectares of mangroves in the Coast Region, with nearly 30 per cent of it degraded. Through the collaborative efforts of multiple institutions, we are striving to undertake restoration initiatives to address this degradation effectively,” Lemarkoko added.
