Friday, 1^st April 2022, KEPSA together with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hosted a virtual CEOs meeting to rally for the private sector support towards accelerating the achievement of the 10% national tree cover goal by 2022. The Ministry has so far held two roundtable meetings with the private sector in May and August 2021 that realized about 100 million tree seedlings’ commitment from private sector players.

The meeting aimed at: Recognising and acknowledging the private sector commitments already made towards the 2 Billion Tree Growing Campaign; Getting updates from stakeholders on their plans to implement their commitments;     Receiving new commitments from stakeholders towards the 2 Billion Tree Growing Campaign; and Apprising CEOs on the available opportunities and mechanisms that private sector can participate in to realize the 2 billion trees target.

Present during the meeting was Mr. Keriako Tobiko — Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Dr. Chris Kiptoo — Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Ms. Carole Kariuki — CEO, KEPSA; Mr. Walid Badawi — UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya; Mr. Stephen Jackson – United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya; representatives of various state agencies; and leaders from various corporates and business associations; development partners; among other stakeholders. 

The main outcomes of the meeting were as follows;

• The private sector provided commitments towards achieving 10% tree cover by 2022.
• The Ministry encouraged the private sector to provide additional commitments to be sent to NETFUND, which will collate and develop an information database that will aid in coordinating the campaign activities.
• There will be a Presidential Roundtable towards 10% tree cover in April 2022.
• The private sector to be included in the technical committee towards accelerating the 10% tree cover.
• Stakeholders to work together to monitor and track the contribution towards 10 % tree cover.
• The meeting identified various opportunities beyond tree planting which the stakeholders can pursue including; Climate change mitigation initiatives from COP26 commitments, green economy, circular economy, REDD+ strategy among others

In his opening remarks, CS Tobiko noted that the planet is experiencing a climate emergency while adding that the consequences of the three planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and waste are too obvious to ignore. He said that science has demonstrated that ecosystem degradation is threatening survival of humanity and future generations. He went on to urge the private sector leaders that protection of Mother Nature is not only the right thing to do but also makes business sense whereby for every dollar invested in environmental sustainability, 15% is realized in returns. The CS insisted on concrete action, specific timelines and constant monitoring of the progress made for the realization of the 10% national tree cover goal. “There is need for consolidated mechanism in building synergies for monitoring and evaluation which will go a long way in ensuring there is available data on trees grown,” He added.

The UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Walid Badawi United Nations Resident Coordinator congratulated Kenya, through the Ministry for its leadership in matters sustainability while outlining the framework through which the private sector can support the tree planting campaign. His remarks were reiterated by the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Stephen Jackson who appreciated the simplicity of the initiative while saying that they have the technology to provide the tripartite partnership between the government, private sector and development partners. Mr. Jackson also encouraged the spirit of Harambee in realizing the target.

In her remarks, the KEPSA CEO Ms. Kariuki noted that KEPSA will utilize its convening power to rally more private sector members to participate in the campaign. She pointed out that the initiative should go beyond planting tree and achieving the target by ensuring that there’s monitoring of the planted trees up until maturity. This she said will be achieved through the tripartite partnership. She also noted the importance of the coordination by the UNDP while highlighting that some of the organisations are already planting and caring for trees but lack space and capacity to be more involved in the campaign. “The business community is aware it cannot only do the economic part, that is why the 3 Ps (Profit, Planet, People) are important and interdependent,” She remarked. Ms. Kariuki noted that the most successful initiatives come from tripartite partnerships, adding that the private sector is confident that the campaign will be a success.

A presentation by Mr. Alfred Gichu – Head, Forest Conservation Directorate in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry on the National Strategy on Forest Conservation outlined the strategic focus, which included growing 2 billion trees, protecting of forests, rehabilitation of degraded public forest areas and landscapes in ASALs, commercial forestry development, improving efficiency in wood conservation and utilization, resource mobilization and education and sensitization. A presentation by NETFUND on the Tree Growing Project revealed some of the opportunities in the sustainable financing mechanisms for the Project.