NAIROBI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday launched the restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands strategy in a bid to boost climate resilience in the country.
Soipan Tuya, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, said that Kenya has prioritized wetlands restoration given their provision of an invaluable and effective system for carbon capture and storage.
"The long retention of carbon in wetlands reduces the amounts of atmospheric carbon, thereby reducing global warming," Tuya said during a conference on wetlands restoration in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
She believed that restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands will be done at water catchments, stressing that community engagement and enforcement of legislation are key to protecting this vital ecosystem.
She said that the involvement of youth, and women will not only contribute to wetlands restoration but also generate income and livelihoods thereby contributing to poverty reduction efforts at the grassroots.
According to the official, Kenya will emulate a successful wetlands restoration initiative in South Africa, the Working for Wetlands in South Africa, a 20-year wetlands restoration program that has resulted in the generation of 37,000 jobs mostly for youth and women.
She said that Kenya is working toward having in place a carbon markets framework that is transparent and has integrity, adding that the Climate Change Act is being amended to spur the growth of carbon markets.
Tuya noted the strategy will help attain the 15 billion national tree-growing restoration goal alongside efforts to combat climate change in line with Kenya's carbon-cutting targets.
The 15 billion national tree-growing restoration program that targets Kenyans to plant and grow 15 billion trees by the year 2032 was launched in December 2022 by President William Ruto as a measure to manage climate change impacts.
The initial 5 billion trees will be planted between 2022-2027.
