Celebrating Kenyas’ ‘humming bird’ moment
As I bent down to plant the first of my trees on Monday 13th November, I shed a tear. A tear of joy. Until that moment I had been coordinating various tree planting events both in my corporate and private capacity. But at that moment, bent down, I remembered her, my tree planting shero, Prof Wangari Maathai.
I remembered her escapades with Kenyan police as she fought to protect the trees, that picture of her hugging a tree flashed through my mind, I remembered her humming bird tale. As I massaged that sapling and put it on the ground, used my bare hands to cover it with soil and finally sprinkled some water on it to mimick the rain, I could only admire the Kenyan spirit. We have gone full circle. From wanton destruction of forest and trees presided over by government officials hence the reason for Prof. Maathai constantly rubbing shoulders the wrong way with the police, to having the government leading from the front, declaring a tree planting holiday.
From the symbolic tree planting that we had at every event in the ‘80s, our language has also changed. We are now “growing” not merely “planting” trees. Growing means you put the sapling on the ground, you water it, give it fertilizer, manure and constant attention for at least three years. It is the reason the Kenya Forest Services (KFS) allocates some of its forests temporarily to farmers who grow short term low lying crops like beans which require only three months to grow. As they feed the crops, they will feed the trees and nurture them and every three months for three years they cycle is repeated. In the end, the trees are sturdy and strong and that forest portion can be left on its own.
From the symbolic tree planting that we had at every event in the ‘80s, our language has also changed. We are now “growing” not merely “planting” trees.
With Kenyans being much more in touch with their environment than they were a decade ago, my expectations are that we will continue to take concrete steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. From prolonged and worsening droughts affecting our crop production to floods in the very same fields, a heat haze at some points in the year, Kenyans are feeling the impact of climate change. Whether in urban or rural settings, none can say they haven’t experienced some sort of different weather from what was experienced in the past.
With government now leading the awareness and action against climate change, I hope that more emphasize will be laid on policies and incentives that support the transition to a low-carbon economy. This should be possible with the investments that the country has made in the sciences at the educational level and hopefully, promoting renewable energy, green transport, and the circular economy will naturally be where our knowledge and skills lead us.
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With only a few weeks to COP28 in Dubai, I hope that Kenya can take a lead to press for more green investment in Africa to reflect the urgency and scale of the climate crisis. I hope that the developed countries will fulfill their obligations to provide finance, technology, and capacity-building to the developing countries, especially the most vulnerable ones. I hope that the host, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will showcase leadership and innovation in climate action, as it has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Kenya’s forest cover stands at about 7% but the government is keen to increase this to more than 10%. Trees store carbon, which is one of the main drivers of global heating thus cooling the environment.
“It is a moment for Kenyans to stand in solidarity in the defence of our environment, it’s a ‘hummingbird’ contribution day, all of us pulling together to fight back the climate change crisis,” said the environment minister, Soipan Tuya.
So, 46 years later since the founding of the Green Belt Movement, more than 51 million trees planted, and more than 30,000 women trained in forestry, food processing, bee-keeping, and other tree based trades, I am sure Prof Maathai smiled from her heavenly abode as she saw the same government that tortured her, swing into action in all parts of the country to fulfil her lifelong mission. It was simply remarkable.
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Jane Gitau
I am a Public Relations guru and I love farming.
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