Standard Chartered Bank Kenya has officially handed over Nairobi Arboretum’s rehabilitation and conservation project that aims to improve Nairobi City’s green spaces.
Presented to Nairobi Arboretum Conservancy Community Forest Association [NACCFA] and marking the World Environment Day [WED], the initiative marks a successful completion and close of a 3-year agreement to promote urban green spaces, community conservation education and awareness and new tree cover.
The Kshs. 20 million initiative is part of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya’s commitment sustainability commitment to accelerate to net-zero through partnerships. It consists of a 1 million seedlings nursery, a digital app on conservation and climate change, QR codes for over 100 iconic evergreen tree species and 20 upgraded signages.
Kariuki Ngari, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kenya and Africa, Standard Chartered said: “This partnership represents a pivotal step forward towards putting the world on a sustainable path to net-zero by 2050. The forest cover will partly aid in mitigating the impact of climate change in an urban area such as Nairobi County as well as in delivering a good quality life for an expanding urban population.
UN Environment Programme [UNEP] estimates that urban areas are responsible for about 70% of global CO2 emissions resulting from various urban activities, including transportation, buildings, and energy use. Tree cover in urban areas plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the urban heat island effect.
Since launch, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya staff volunteers helped plant one million tree seedlings in the Nairobi Arboretum nursery through planting and nurturing seedlings. Over 100,000 of the seedlings have been donated to every Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon finisher and communities.
Kenya Forest Service’s Regional Forest Conservator Joyce Nthuku said: This collaborative investment in Nairobi Arboretum’s nursery will play a vital role in forest planting and conservation efforts across Nairobi, focusing on both reforestation and ecological restoration and eventually benefit the government’s 15 billion trees target by 2032.
The Government of Kenya launched the National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign, targeting to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. This will scale up the forest cover from the current 7.2% to 30% by 2030. This initiative is part of a broader effort to combat climate change, restore degraded landscapes, and improve livelihoods by increasing forest cover to 30%.
