The Ministry of Environment has restored 86 hectares of degraded areas in the expansive Kaptagat Forest Ecosystem in Elgeyo Marakwet County, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Eldoret-Iten Water Fund, as part of the government’s plan to grow 15 billion trees by 2032.
During the eighth edition of the Kaptagat Forest Annual Tree Growing event, at least 100,000 tree seedlings were planted to restore Kipsalen river in Sabor forest ecosystem which is one of the rivers that supplies water to communities living within the catchment and Iten municipality.
“We are proud to join hands with the Eldoret-Iten Water Fund and other partners in this initiative. Restoring degraded forest areas through such nature-based solutions improves biodiversity, helps to address the impacts of climate change and directly benefits thousands of households. Such collaborative efforts are vital for achieving our environmental goals and creating a greener, more sustainable future for Kenya,” Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry Dr. Eng. Festus K. Ng’eno, said in mid-July during the event in which President William Ruto participated in planting tree seedlings.
The Eldoret-Iten Water Fund is Kenya’s second water fund, a public-private partnership that was established by TNC to invest in nature-based solutions to protect and restore source water catchments for the benefit of people and nature, both upstream and downstream. So far, there are 17 water funds set up by TNC and partners in Africa.
Since the launch in 2023 of the #GrowAMilli campaign by Kenya’s First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto, within the watershed, Eldoret-Iten Water Fund has surpassed its target of planting one million trees during the recent El Nino rains. The Water Fund aims to put 85,138 hectares of protected forest under improved management, restore 3,500 hectares of degraded agricultural land and another 15,000 hectares of forest land. It will rehabilitate 500 hectares of wetlands, put 5,862 hectares of high biodiversity land and 10,000 hectares of steep landscapes under sustainable production systems for better land management.
“Research has demonstrated that investing in nature through restoration of forests, adopting improved agricultural practices and upstream forest protection can improve the quality of water. Water funds champion such efforts and can help tackle water insecurity due to degradation of water sources that threatens the quality and quantity of water in the country,” TNC Africa’s Water Funds Director, Fred Kihara, said.
According to Global Forest Watch, Kenya’s forest area is approximately 3.46 million hectares, constituting about 5.9% of the national territory. Between 2002 and 2023, Kenya lost 52.5 hectares of humid primary forest, 14% of the total tree cover loss. In 2023 alone, 10.1 hectares of natural forest were lost, equivalent to 6.35 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Protecting forests, grasslands, and wetlands through initiatives like the Kaptagat Forest Annual Tree Growing event, helps reduce the risk of species extinction, while tree growing contributes to carbon sequestration and climate resilience.
Besides TNC, other partners behind the the Eldoret Iten-Water Fund initiative include GEF/IFAD, Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company, Kenya Water Towers Agency, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya Wildlife Service, Water Resources Authority, Hydrologist Board of Kenya, University of Eldoret, the National Environment Management Authority, and the Ogiek, Cherangany and Sengwer communities living in and around the watershed.
As part of the 2024 edition, the Eldoret Iten Water Fund has supported 20,000 households to adopt sustainable land management practices, distributed 338,000 fruit trees and 505,899 agroforestry trees, and installed 160 water pans to harvest 18 million litres of water annually. These efforts will sequester 6.4 million tons of carbon equivalent over 120,000 hectares.
