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{
    "id": 616835,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/616835/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 152,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Barua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1529,
        "legal_name": "Ejidius Njogu Barua",
        "slug": "ejidius-njogu-barua"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. At the outset, let me say that I support this Bill in totality. However, we should introduce a few amendments to make it better and more representative of the people of Kenya. The forest cover in any country is very important. At the moment, there are very few countries in the world which have attained the 10 per cent forest cover as the minimum requirement for a sustainable forest regime. The other day, we concluded the International Global Conference on Climate Change in France. As a global community, we came up with the COP21 Agreement on climate change. We have made a commitment as the Globe - Kenya included - of reducing global warming to a minimum of 1.5 degrees centigrade compared to the pre-industrial situation. Achieving that calls for sacrifice and commitment from everyone of us in this House and the Globe. We require commitment from every government. I am happy to state that Kenya, as a nation, has endorsed the COP21 Agreement to contain the increase in global temperatures and emission of greenhouse gases. As it is now, Africa contributes about 3 per cent of the global greenhouse emissions. Although we contribute that percentage, we are the most affected by climate change. Climate change affects the entire world. We have to contribute and be players in the global initiative of reducing greenhouse emission. We should ensure that the world is sustainable and habitable for future generations. I support the Bill as it provides for the establishment of Kenya Forest Service (KFS) as a competent authority to co-ordinate the management of forest conservation in this country. This country will be receiving a report on the state of the forest cover in the country every two years. If this Bill is approved and assented to, KFS will be required to prepare a state of the forest cover report every two years. From the state of the forest report, we should know how we are faring on in terms of forest conservation, regeneration of forest and expansion of the forest cover. The report will help Kenyans know how much of the forest cover that we have is indigenous and how much is exotic. Indigenous plantations have greater environmental impact in terms of conservation. That is the forest resource assessment report. This will tell us the value in terms of forest cover and wealth of the nation in terms of the forests that we have."
}