Our forests - a source of life

No trees, no forests! No forests, no rainfall! No rainfall, no water! No water, no power! No power, no industry! No industry, no jobs! No jobs, no money! No jobs, no money! No money, no food! No food, no life! Perceptibly, forests are very important as this sequence show.Destroying forests has serious environmental, economic and social consequences. Anyone in drought areas should remember that we have suffered crippling droughts as well as water and power rationing in some parts of Africa. Recovering from these disasters takes a long time. At the social level, the destruction of forests can lead or is leading to the ruin of the Twa community in the Congo forest and the Ogiek community whose ancestral home is the Mau forest in Kenya. In counties which heavily depend on agricultural produce both for local consumption and for export, rain is very important. Trees attract rain and we should do everything possible to preserve them. We should even plant more. Trees also prevent soil erosion and flooding. Soil erosion carries away the productive soil while flooding leads to loss of life and property. In Kenya’s Western province, Busia district, Budalangi constituency and it`s environs, the inhabitants cannot build permanent homes because they know in the month of April they have to move to high grounds because of flooding that causes lose of property and even life. In addition forests provide catchment areas for some largest rivers and lakes. From these rivers and lakes we get water for domestic use, irrigation and we can also get sea food. On the rivers are dams from which electricity is tapped or generated. For example River Nile is a major hydro power generation that serves Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. Did you know that Lake Victoria has it`s major tributaries in Kenya and these tributaries emanate from the Mau forest. But because of human activities in the forest the tributaries are reducing for water as a result Lake Victoria on the Kenyan side is reducing in water and if the situation is not checked it will affect the people of Egypt who rely entirely on irrigation from River Nile whose source is Lake Victoria. Moreover, forests play a significant role in our atmosphere. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, they act as a filter thus leaving our air fresh and clean. Forests are also the most important defense against climatic changes such as global warming. If we destroy the forests the chain is broken thus our lives. wakhujapheth@yahoo.com