The Garissa Million Trees initiative has strengthened its collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry following a consultative meeting with the national 15 Billion Trees Secretariat aimed at accelerating ecosystem restoration across Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs).
The meeting, led by the Secretariat’s Coordinator Susan Boit, focused on aligning the Garissa Million Trees initiative with the government’s ambitious 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme to restore degraded landscapes and strengthen climate resilience in Northern Kenya.
Garissa Million Trees founder Abdikadir Aden, HSC said the discussions centred on practical strategies to rehabilitate fragile dryland ecosystems while creating sustainable economic opportunities for local communities.
He said the partnership seeks to promote indigenous tree growing, restore riparian ecosystems, sustainably manage the invasive Prosopis juliflora species, support community-led landscape restoration and create green jobs for young people and women.
“The discussions explored how greening the Northern region can complement Kenya’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme by restoring degraded dryland landscapes through indigenous tree growing, rehabilitation of riparian ecosystems, sustainable management of invasive Prosopis juliflora, community-led restoration and the creation of green jobs for youth and women,” Abdikadir said.
He noted that the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing sustainable landscape restoration as a key pillar of Kenya’s climate action agenda and the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Mr. Abdikadir, said the engagement represents an important milestone in strengthening collaboration between the Garissa Million Trees initiative and the Ministry of Environment to position Kenya’s dryland landscapes at the centre of national restoration and climate ambitions.
He noted, restoring degraded ecosystems in Northern Kenya will improve environmental sustainability and also enhance livelihoods through increased employment opportunities and climate-smart development.
“At Garissa Million Trees, we are growing more than trees; we are restoring ecosystems, transforming livelihoods and securing a greener future for Northern Kenya,” he said.
Kenya’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme is a flagship national initiative aimed at increasing the country’s tree cover and restoring degraded ecosystems by 2032 as part of its commitments to combat climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation.
The programme places key emphasis on community participation, environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable ASAL counties.
