Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary Anne Wang’ombe Wednesday reaffirmed the State Department’s commitment to climate action through inclusive approaches aimed at improving national forest cover.
While speaking in Nyanturago Wetlands in Kisii County during the monthly greening program under the National Tree Planting Initiative, the PS called for vigilance in restoring degraded landscapes, noting that climate change poses dire socio-economic challenges to the population’s most vulnerable groups, including women and children.
"We recognize that sustainable development cannot be achieved without environmental stewardship and that women and vulnerable groups must be empowered to be at the center of climate action. As a department, we shall continue to integrate environmental conservation into our core mandate and promote inclusive and participatory approaches to afforestation and reforestation." Affirmed PS Anne Wang'ombe.
Since the inception of the initiative in December 2022, the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, together with its SAGAs, has collectively planted 446,058 trees across various regions in the country.
The government launched the national tree planting program with an aim of planting 15 billion trees by 2032 in an effort to increase the country’s tree cover from 12% to 30% to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Accompanying the PS were Kisii County Commissioner Joseph Boen, the county CIPO Commandant, the county conservator, and other administrative and county leaders.