New holiday in Kenya: Everyone should plant trees

New holiday in Kenya Everyone should plant trees

Updated 01.40 | Published 01.33

Share the article

Save the article

full screen A jacaranda tree blooms in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Archive image. Photo: Sayyid Abdul Azim/TT

15 billion new trees by 2032. That’s the goal of Kenya’s government – which is now introducing a new national planting holiday.

According to Interior Minister Kithuri Kindiki, the residents’ tree planting will be “a patriotic contribution” to efforts to save the country from “the devastating effects of climate change”.

“The government has declared a special holiday on Monday, November 13, 2023, during which everyone throughout the country is expected to plant trees,” he announces on X, formerly Twitter.

The country’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change and Forestry will contribute tree seedlings to the residents.

– It is an opportunity for Kenyans to stand in solidarity in the defense of our environment, says climate minister Soipan Tuya.

Tree plantings are included in many countries’ climate pledges to solve the ongoing climate crisis, which, among other things, has significantly worsened the drought in the Horn of Africa.

Currently, Kenya consists of about seven percent forest. This year, the government has set aside just over SEK 870 million to increase the forest stock to over ten percent.

afbl-general-01