February 15, 2024 (Public Communication and Media Relations)

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Natural Resources, and Climate Change hosted the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) delegation and held discussions on the management of Prosopis (Etirae) in Turkana County.

CECM Loote welcomed the national government agency and said that the county was in the process of engaging in partners to support the Prosopis management strategy.

“There is a need for a multisectoral approach that involves the national and county governments, partners, sector players, and the general public. Together, we can create awareness of the possibility of commercialising Prosopis for economic benefit,” said Loote.

She pointed out that support from KFS would strengthen the strategy implementation, Loote highlighted the alarming rate at which the species was invading arable land and contributing to climate change.

Led by the agency’s director, Frederick Namusinde, KFS pledged to offer support to facilitate Turkana’s existing 10-year strategy that was crafted late last year in collaboration with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI).

“As an agency, we root for commercialization of the invasive species through value addition and controlled charcoal burning. Once cut, we also advise continuous planting of alternative species that are not as disruptive as Proposis Juliflora,” said Namusinde.

Namusinde advised the county executive to take advantage of the partnership between the county and KFS to boost Turkana’s capacity to combat illegal tree cutting, firewood transportation, and the uncontrolled spread of invasive species through knowledge exchange programs.

Director for Climate Change George Lodungo Emase said that the county government had made significant progress in the value addition of Prosopis products and called for support in strengthening the efforts, especially in urban areas.

Present during the meeting were Pauline Ngoli Pusiye (Deputy Director for Natural resources) and Mbotela William PEO-EIA Section (Environment Department)

The Director for the state department(KFS) was accompanied by Richard Guya (Echo system Conservator (Turkana region) Patrick Mwirigi (Head of Turkana sub-region office (KEFRI) and David Njoroge.