Dr. Alfred Mutua, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, has announced that every tourist visiting Kenya will be charged a small fee for purchasing tree seedlings.
CS Mutua made the announcement on May 9 during a reception hosted by the Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, Jenny Da Rin, to announce plans by an Australian tourism company, Intrepid, to expand in East Africa.
He stated that his ministry is developing a framework where each tourist will be required to pay Kes.20 for a tree seedling.
“Our plan as a government is that every tourist from any part of the world who visits Kenya will plant a tree. We are currently working on a plan through our ministry – the Tourism Board – where every tourist who comes into the country will be given a tree seedling to plant.
“There will be a small fee of Kes.20 charged to the tourist for the seedling. I think that’s a small fee for any tourist to part with. We want them to plant a tree and they can monitor it every time they visit Kenya. We want at least one tree per tourist,” Dr. Mutua said.
One Tree per Tourist
Mutua emphasized that the initiative would aid in achieving the government’s target of planting 15 billion trees. He highlighted that the initiative, known as “One Tree per Tourist,” represents a significant stride in addressing the impacts of climate change.
Furthermore, he stated that “One Tree per Tourist” has received full endorsement from the President and the Cabinet, following discussions at a cabinet meeting where Cabinet Secretaries deliberated on strategies to foster a green economy.
Mutua underscored that by planting a tree, each tourist would play a role in conserving biodiversity and ecosystems vital to the tourism industry.
“Tourism is heavily dependent on the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems. Tree planting remains an ongoing and crucial endeavor undertaken by the ministry to safeguard the country’s ecosystem,” Mutua concluded.
