Over 3M trees to be planted for Greening Kisumu City in climate change mitigation
By Dickson Odhiambo
November 16, 2022
Over 3M trees to be
planted for Greening Kisumu City in climate change mitigation
THE County Government of Kisumu plans to plant over 3
million trees in Kisumu City within a period of three years as part of Climate
change adaptation and mitigation initiatives.
Through the Kisumu City Management, the County Government
has initiated an intensive citywide greening program that will be carried out
for a period of three years.
Addressing the gathering at Kisumu’s Mama Grace Onyango
Social Center, Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o said this is part of
his County Government’s Strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of climate
change through local climate actions.
Nyong’o says this is also meant to increase the Kisumu
County tree cover from the current 4 percent to the desired 10 percent among
other important benefits.
The Kisumu Governor has appealed to all the stakeholders and
development partners to fully support the initiative for prosperity and to fast
track its achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the new urban
agenda.
Nyong’o says this is part of his second term manifesto that
talks about improving service delivery through enhanced infrastructural
initiatives; environmental hygiene, conservation and stewardship among others.
“Faced with the growing populations and rapid urbanization
rate, cities in Africa are on the frontline of exposure to dangerous levels of
climate change issues that may impact negatively on the livelihood and the
economy,” Nyong’o says.
Nyong’o adds that as the population for African cities to grow
by 950 million people by 2050 with Kisumu City included, the cities need to
launch their pathway to sustainable urban development area that are ‘City smart’ to reduce the impact of
climate change and other environmental risks.
Kisumu City Acting Manager Michael Abala Wanga says it is high
time they revolutionized and plan to accommodate the growing population and
higher demand for services in a manner that achieves economic, social and
environmental gains simultaneously.
He says the Vision of Kisumu is to be a leading city in
Kenya and the entire Great Lake region in providing innovative services that
are responsive to customers’ expectations.
“In the next five years, the City is focused on improving
service delivery through enhanced infrastructural initiatives,” Abala says.
He says the component of improving service delivery through
enhanced infrastructural initiatives include neigbourhood frontage
beautification, increased forest coverage and smart city initiative which incorporate
wifi, CCTVs in strategic areas and traffic control lights for the traffic
management in the City.
Abala adds that to achieve the threshold of planting 3
Million tree under the greening citywide initiative, there shall be planting of
tree on the 10th day of every month where the Kisumu Governor,
citizens, likeminded stakeholders and development partners will participate and
support the initiative.
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