By Isaac Manje.
The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) paid a courtesy call to Kibabii University on 19th April, 2024 to discuss possible areas of collaboration in tree planting and environmental conservation. NEMA was ably represented by Prof. Charles Ngome Kibanani, a board member at the Authority, while KFS was represented by Mr. Eric Abungu, an Ecosystem Conservator based at KFS in Bungoma.
The team was received by Senior University Management, comprising Prof. Donald Siamba, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Finance and Development who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Ipara Odeo, Prof. Munir Muganda, Ag. Vice Chancellor. Partnerships, Planning, Research and Development, and Dr. Paul Obino, the Director of Partnerships and Linkages.
In his remarks, Prof. Siamba reiterated Kibabii University’s commitment to planting trees and conserving the environment in order to minimize the effects of climate change. He said that the University has a tree nursery at its Sirisia farm which has already supplied more than 1,000 trees that will be planted at the Main Campus. Prof. Siamba noted that the University has already surpassed the government’s target of having its staff plant at least 30 trees each. “Having 400 staff plant 30 trees each translates to 12,000 trees yet the University staff have already planted more than 17,000 trees so far”, said Prof. Siamba. He also noted that plans are underway to bring students on board to actively participate in tree planting.
Prof. Ngome lauded the efforts made by Kibabii University in tree planting and advised the management to consider nurturing as many seedlings as possible as an income generating venture. He further recommended that the seedlings can also be donated to the community as part of CSR initiatives. He was particularly impressed with the manner in which Kibabii University has been performing well in financial management in the public sector and urged the management to ensure the same in environmental conservation.
Prof. Munir was thankful to NEMA, particularly to Prof. Ngome, for such a noble initiative noting that it was quite timely and in line with Kibabii University’s agenda of environmental protection. He further added that the partnership would provide ideal opportunities for research in environmental issues.
Led by Prof. Siamba, the visiting team planted trees at Kibabii University in commemoration of the visit and imminent partnership. Prof. Siamba called on the delegation to visit the University more often to check on the progress of their planted trees and also to plant more trees in future.
The courtesy call culminated in a site visit to the Kaberwa Forest Station in Kapsokwony area of Mt. Elgon, as well as Kibisi Dam in Tongaren where Kibabii University, NEMA and KFS agreed to work on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to have the University adopt several wetlands to plant trees. The anticipated MoU would touch on how the adopted wetlands would be demarcated, fenced, planted and secured to avoid conflict with neighbouring communities and ensure the safety of the planted seedlings.
At Kaberwa, the team met the Community Forest Association (CFA), led by their Chairman Mr. George Ndege who reiterated the Association’s commitment to protecting the wetlands that Kibabii University intends to adopt. The Kaberwa CFA scouts expressed their enthusiasm in the idea of Kibabii University adopting wetlands to nurture seedlings and assured the delegation of their unwavering support in protecting any seedlings that would be planted by the University.
Dr. Obino expressed his satisfaction in the work that the CFA scouts have been doing so far and assured them of the full support of Kibabii University in this noble initiative. He noted that planting and preserving the trees had a long term impact even to people living outside the community.
