The Cabinet Secretary for East Africa Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development Beatrice Askul has urged the residents of Busia to plant more trees to promote environmental conservation.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Administrative Secretary at the State Department of East Africa Community, Susan Waweru at Bunyala technical institute where at least 5500 trees were planted at Port Victoria forest station, Askul expressed the department's determination to achieve its target to increase forest cover in the country. "Our commitment is to plant 5 million trees this year and to date, we have already managed to plant at least 1.4 million trees with Busia County accounting for 50,000 trees".
She noted that the health and prosperity of the community were directly linked to the health of the environment there by indicating the need of planting many trees and conserving the environment. "These trees are not merely aesthetic additions to our landscape, they are the very lungs of our earth, playing crucial role in regulating our climate, purifying our air and water and preventing soil erosion," she said The CS indicated that the solution to environmental degradation should be a collective responsibility by all stakeholders for posterity in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Busia County Commissioner Mwachaunga Chaunga urged residents to embrace planting trees that produce fruits. "We are happy that the residents have embraced planting of trees.
