Kenya has initiated an ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 as part of its climate restoration efforts, aiming to revitalize 10.6 million hectares of degraded land and increase national tree cover to 30%. The campaign was launched by President William Ruto in December 2022, and while official reports claimed a total of 1.06 billion trees to be planted by early 2025, data from the JazaMiti app, designed to track the activity, indicates only 738 million trees have been logged. This discrepancy raises concerns about the actual progress being made towards the goal.

Experts have emphasized that the reported numbers reflect tree planting activities rather than the survival of seedlings. There are significant systemic gaps in tracking and verifying the survival rates of the planted trees, leading to uncertainty about their long-term viability. Ambrose Genga, a Partnerships Officer, noted the difference between the optimistic statistics on the app and the reality on the ground, reinforcing the concern that without concrete survival verification, the campaign may only be a superficial success without any meaningful ecological impact.

The implications of these findings are critical as Kenya pushes forward with its climate agenda, highlighting the need for more effective monitoring systems to ensure the sustainability of its tree planting initiatives. If the survival rates of these trees are not properly tracked, it could undermine not only the country's climate objectives but also its potential to combat deforestation and environmental degradation in the long run.