Minister Announces Tree Planting Initiative to Curb Effects of Drought
Posted on: Monday, 16 January 2006, 03:02 CST
Text of report by Alex Kiprotich entitled "Minister blames drought on environmental degradation" published by Kenyan newspaper The Standard website on 16 January
The drought ravaging some parts of the country is a result of environmental degradation, a Cabinet minister has said.
Environment minister Prof Kivutha Kibwana said activities such as deforestation had caused drought, leaving thousands without food.
"The continuing drought in some parts of the country is because we have not been keen to protect our environment," he said.
Kibwana was speaking on Sunday [15 January] during the opening of a three-day trade union assembly on labour and the environment at the United Nations headquaters, Gigiri.
To reverse the trend, Kibwana said, the government would supply and plant trees in all parts of the country.
The government would also revise the 1999 environment policy to ban the use of hazardous packaging materials such as polythene bags.
"Polythene bags are dangerous and industries should come up with packaging materials that are not hazardous," he said.
The conference, the first of its kind, brings together over 150 trade union leaders to chart a new agenda for organized labour and the global environment.
The executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Dr Klaus Toepfer, said organized labour could be a powerful catalyst in persuading employers and companies to be more environmentally responsible.
He said UNEP was working closely with all countries to ban hazardous chemicals.
"The gains are expected to include healthier working conditions and reduced emissions to land, water and air with the aim of benefiting an estimated 5 million factory workers," he said.
The International Labour Organization estimates that about 300,000 workers die each year from exposure to chemical agents.
Source: BBC Monitoring Africa
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