World Resources Institute (WRI) together with various partners, including the Kenya government, conducted a geospatial analysis to determine the extent of the country’s degraded lands and which of these were suitable for restoration.
The survey found that 38,8 million ha of Kenya – more than 65% of the country’s total land area – was suitable for rehabilitation.
“Local leaders can use the map to identify restoration activities, which could involve everything from planting trees alongside crops to reforesting clear-cut forests to adding vegetation along roads,” said WRI.
It said about 75% of Kenyans were farmers and so were directly affected by degraded lands. The implementation of a land restoration programme would help these farmers to achieve, and benefit from, improved crop and livestock productivity among other benefits.
Aaron Minnick, an associate with WRI, told Farmer’s Weekly that efforts to source the funding necessary to implement Kenya’s land restoration efforts were already underway.
“Inevitably, some funds will need to come from governments and donors, but there is also a huge need for private finance and restoration to be incorporated in business models,” he said.
