“Excessive cutting of fruit trees deprives people of a significant part of their diet,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “But that hasn’t stopped people from bribing officials and cutting trees at night,” he said. Growing demand for firewood and timber from tea factories in the Mount Kenya area has speeded the cutting of trees, and fruit trees are particularly valued for their high-quality wood, Mugambi said. Loss of fruit trees is worsening an already precarious food situation, particularly as droughts worsen, Mugambi said. Green TNC, a charity, has organised tree-planting initiatives in schools, with students planting hundreds of saplings - at least half of them fruit trees - at 25 schools.

Source: Standard Digital April 21, 2018 06:56 UTC