According to Jung Hyun Park, Vice President and Managing Director of Samsung Electronics East Africa, global climate change is at Africa’s door step.
The past month alone has seen countries across the world, from the US to Thailand, the Caribbean and Kenya, hit by devastating encounters with flooding.
The wrath of global warming, according to studies, is expected to take its toll over the coming years, with the threat of everything from flooding to drought, the spread of disease and even lack of drinking water looming.
According to National Geographic, the global average surface temperature has already increased between 0.6 and 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1906. As a result, ice across the world is melting.
And in the case of climate change, it just may happen one tree at a time.
The future relies on our forests
Environmental Defense Fund, is adamant that any realistic plan to reduce global warming sufficiently, will rely in part on preserving our forests.
Deforestation is a particular problem in Kenya where in 2015 it was estimated that Kenya was losing a shocking 5.6 million trees daily. The effects of deforestation on the African continent have been significant, leading to reduced rainfall and increased soil erosion, in turn causing food scarcity and other difficulties for people living in the area.
The Kenyan government has taken a stand by setting itself the goal of planting a total of 20 million trees in and around Mount Kenya and other highland forests by 2024. It plans on increasing forest cover and restore degraded land, and in so doing make a valuable contribution towards the war against climate change.
It is an achievable target and one which will help us beat back the harmful ravages of global warming – country by country, forest by forest, tree by tree.
10 000 trees to start
Samsung Electronics East Africa is determined to be part of tackling this threat by playing part in rehabilitating Karura Forest in Nairobi.
Recently, Samsung partnered with Friends of Karura Forest and Kenya Forest Service to help grow forest coverage in Karura Forest specifically, and Kenya in general, committing to planting 10 000 trees over the next two years.
As part of Samsung’s commitment, 5 000 trees will be planted in the forest this year and 5 000 in 2018. 200 benches and picnic tables have also been donated towards the initiative.
The benefits of a project like Karura Forest extend beyond reducing the effects of climate change. It also has a positive impact on the surrounding communities, in particular the Huruma and Deep Sea informal settlements that border the forest to the north and south, from which residents have been employed to plant the 10 000 trees donated by Samsung.