NAIROBI, Kenya June 17- Jambojet Limited and Kenya Forest Service (KFS) have partnered to plant 1000 trees in one hectare of land in Ngong Hills Forest in order to achieve the 10 percent forest cover goal by the government by the end of this year.
The airline has joined the KFS ‘Adopt-A-Forest’ campaign which aims at boosting forest cover and seeks to plant 2 million trees by 2032.
Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday, Jambojet Managing Director Karanja Ndegwa acknowledged that framework their operations have impacted the environment through carbon emissions, and in a bid to compensate, they are working to reduce global warming.
“Globally, the prevailing conversation around climate change is on the premise that earth is about 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. The goal is to keep global warming at no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and as such, emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050,” he said.
The MD further noted that Jambojet plans to replicate the Adopt-A-Forest framework across its seven destinations in Kenya, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Diani, Malindi, Eldoret, and Lamu.
“We heed the global call for net-zero transition, and tree planting is one of the activities we consciously take part in to reduce impact on the environment from our operations. We have been actively involved in tree planting activities with schools, public institutions, and the private sector, and the partnership with the Kenya Forest Service offers a great framework for adoption” the Jambojet manager stated.
Nairobi region Head of Conservancy Francis Kariuki said that the current forest cover stands at 8.3 percent against the 10 percent forest cover as spelled out in the Vision 2030.
Kajiado North Assistant County Commissioner Bathsheba Osiemo, on his part, assured the Government’s commitment to partner with private organizations in the bid to improve climate change.
“As the national government, we support different organizations. We usually work closely with private entities so we work as private and public partnerships so that we can achieve our different missions,” Osiemo said.
