Ombudsman warns Kenyans against deforestation and pollution.

As Kenya joins the rest of the globe in celebrating the World Environmental Day, an environmental Ombudsman has warned Kenyans against practices that lead to increased deforestation and degradation of the environment.

Dr John Chumo who is also the secretary of the National Environmental Complaints Committee asked Kenyans to heed the day’s theme, restoring ecosystem, in order to protect the environment for current and future generations.

Speaking to Northrift Mirror, Chumo said protection of ecosystem through planting of trees and stopping pollution had a direct value to people.

” The challenges that we have in the world and also in Kenya is the issue to do with the disappearance of the forest cover, water pollution and desecration in ASAL areas due to population pressure,” Chumo said

He said the most challenge is forest desecration and urbanisation with a lot of waste being channeled to the rivers, lakes and seas.

He called upon the Nandi county residents to take care of forest cover and the wet lands.

” We see a lot of land system, people taking cattle to the forest, people getting fire wood from the forest and if we do not do a lot of forest cover we shall have a problem. Wetlands also are under pressure because people are ploughing the land,” he stated.

Chumo asked county governments to ensure that the environment is well protected.