Kenyans rally to plant trees in boost in the fight against climate change

President William Ruto yesterday led a tree-planting exercise at Elgon Downs, Entebes, in Trans Nzoia County, bringing Mazingira Week, which started on October 5, to a close. The five-day week was set aside to plant 17 million trees countrywide in an effort to help meet the government's target of growing 15 billion trees by 2032. "Our plan today was to plant 5.3 million trees here in every part of Kenya, and I want to thank everyone who has participated in this exercise," President Ruto said. "Let us sustain this spirit as we work towards our goal of growing 15 billion trees by 2032 to combat climate change and restore our environment," Ruto added. He said environmental conservation should go hand in hand with economic empowerment, particularly for communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and natural resources.