The 15 Billion Tree Question: Are We Planting Forests or Wasting Futures?
For the better part of this week, I have been crunching numbers. Not for a spreadsheet or a government report, but because I believe that when we communicate numbers honestly and clearly, we can finally share a truthful vision for a better country. One figure has been running through my mind constantly: 15 billion. That is the number of trees the Kenyan government aims to plant in the next few years. It is an ambitious target, a headline-grabbing commitment to fighting climate change and restoring our landscape. On paper, it sounds like a green revolution in the making. But after running the math from my own small corner of this country—a tree nursery struggling to survive—I have to ask a difficult question: Is this campaign truly planting forests, or is it wasting futures? The Economic Promise Hiding in Plain Sight Let us begin with the vision of what could be. If we approach this target with honesty, the economic potential is staggering. Consider the value of a single tree seedling. ...
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