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{
    "id": 381161,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/381161/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 144,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Another problem that I have seen is that all the indigenous trees that are found in arid and semi-arid areas are now being cut down to burn charcoal. These are natural trees. It is not known how old they are. When you ask these people why they do those things, they will tell you that they do not have food. I think they also lack knowledge. I now call upon the Government to come up with serious action on how communities can be educated on protecting their own environment. Now that we have county governments, do we have any plans? Does the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) have officers on the ground to work with communities? Three weeks ago, I had a serious case where the same agency decided to outsource trees in an area called Sioi in my county and they were cut at night. This is not a commercial forest, but a catchment area. They usually come at night and disappear during the day. When you ask them about it, they say that they were given a formal permission from Nairobi. Nairobi is very far from West Pokot. They do not know if it is a catchment area. These are some of the things that we need to look at critically. Madam Temporary Speaker, we also have water flowing from Lake Victoria to Egypt through River Nile. Do we keep any royalties? Do we get any money to protect this water? If it is given, how do the counties where these rivers emanate benefit so that they can continue keeping the environment well? For example, if Tana River County wants its water to continue flowing, then they need to look at areas around Mt. Kenya. They should be given some royalties to plant trees. We are talking to our people in Turkana County; their water comes from West Pokot. We will need some money to plant trees so that the water continues to flow. These are some of the challenges that we shall continue to face. Do we still have any colleges where people are trained in matters of forests? I do not know whether we have them. The NEMA has turned out to become a tax collector. Instead of being an agency that is training and educating people on how to make use of the environment, they only wait for a house to be built. Once it is completed, they do not educate people on how to sustain themselves within that environment. These are some of the challenges that we need to look at critically. There was a time when the Government was tough where one could not plant or plough certain metres or yards away from the river. Some trees were not allowed to be planted near the water source. These measures disappeared because the Government agencies on the ground were absent. There is no harm in restoring what we lost slowly and surely. We can even start with some areas that are active and which can harm us if we do not move in as a nation. Most of the rivers and lakes are in Rift Valley. Therefore, if we have to irrigate one million acres between now and 2017, which is the Jubilee Government’s agenda, where is the water going to come from when the river sources have been destroyed and so on? So, we need to put our priorities right. People should continue farming, but they also need to take good care of where the water comes from. Madam Temporary Speaker, I will need to start from the areas where we have mountains, but there is no single foreign tree that has been planted there, except the ones that God gave us. In my county, we have numerous hills like Kasei and Sok where there is no forest cover. I would propose that we start with the tall ones. The only forest that we have is the one that was done by prisoners in 1950s when the colonial government decided to plant Amarula . Amarula tree is the one that protected the whole of Chepereria The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}