Uasin Gishu County requires 73 Million Trees to attain 10% forest cover!
In Uasin Gishu County alone, we need to have planted 36 million trees in the next 10 years. That is 3.6 million trees per year.
The Mau Forest-/New African Magazine
WHAT IS TEN PERCENT FOREST COVER?
Ten per cent forest cover means if you have ten acres of land, ONE ACRE should be under tree cover.
According to the United Nations Environmental Program, Kenya’s forest cover currently averages 7.5%
Let us take the case of Uasin Gishu County measuring 2,955 Square Kilometres. 730,169.4 acres or thereabouts.
To attain ten per cent forest cover we need to plant trees covering 73,000 (Seventy-Three Thousand Acres)
An acre of forest averages 500- 1,000 trees. Uasin gishu needs 73 Million Trees.
BUT
We are currently at 7.5 percent forest cover. Therefore, we need 18.25 Million trees planted to hit the ten percent forest cover.
Over the last 10 years a concerted effort by The County Government of Uasin Gishu, the State Department of Environment, the Kenya Forest Service and all other stakeholders planted about 10 million trees. I know for a fact that we had surpassed the 8 million mark by 2019 before the Covid 19 interrupted normal government functions and our socio-economic fabric.
However, Uasin Gishu is pegged at a Seventy- Five percent tree survival rate. We lose Twenty-Five (25) out of every One Hundred tree seedlings planted due to weather, poor timing of planting season, and other factors such as human and animal destruction, pests and diseases etc.
This brings our estimated figures to 7.5 Million of the Ten million trees planted between 2013-2023.
As of today, I can safely state that we need to plant 12.5 Million trees to hit at least the 10% mark.
However,
President William Ruto has set us a very achievable national target of Twenty- Eight percent tree cover by 2032.
In Uasin Gishu County alone, we need to have planted 36 million trees in the next 10 years. That is 3.6 million trees per year.
How do we achieve it while maintaining the most economical use of land?
We should plant trees in our riparian reserves; swamps along the river and around our natural springs. The species of trees planted in these areas should be those that will protect river banks from erosion, sitting and water contamination. Vegetation such as Bamboo is the best at water filtration, silt protection for dams and protection of swamps from pollution. They also raise the water tank.
Secondly, once you have terraced your arable land you need to plant legumes such as gravelia and dombeya because they will act as windbreakers, and support grasses in protecting against erosion by water and wind.
Several varieties of trees can be planted in stoney patches of land which in the long run will break down soft bedrocks and murram soils ultimately making the parcel arable.
Back to our numbers. So if your family owns ten acres of land you should have at least 1,000 growing trees and 2,800 by the time President William Ruto will be retiring in his second term.
Here is an ingenious way of planting trees without eating into your arable land.
An acre of land has a 250-meter perimeter. So if your compound is half an acre you can surround it with live fences and about 160 trees spaced at a distance of 1.5 metres apart. That leaves you with a balance of 2640 trees.
Cultivate half an acre of a fruit garden filled with oranges, guavas, avocados etc – even for subsistence consumption. Your family will also use the garden as their leisure grounds. Spaced at a maximum of 200 trees ( an orange orchard has a maximum of 270 fruit trees ).
2640 – 200 = 2440.
Your animals need shade in their grazing area. Plant about 100 widely spaced trees on about two acres of grazing land. Wide spacing allows trees to form a good canopy without smouldering grass.
2340.
Plant Grevilia along the terraces in your cereal field. That will be another 100 trees.
2240.
Establish an acre of coffee, tea, macadamia or avocado as your perennial crop. They will help you economically. Mixed cropping cushions farmers for when market prices for one crop plummet you will profit from another. These crops have a population density of 1,000- 1,500 trees per acre. Tea has a higher tree density because you need to make a table of vegetation.
Finally, surround your ten-acre perimeter with trees again spaced at even 2 meters apart and also run a treeline across the breadth of your land to establish windbreakers for your crops. That will eat up the balance of 1,000 or so trees.
Bingo!
( The writer is Principal Communications Officer at The County Government of Uasin Gishu)
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