The removal of Kenya’s baobab trees has caused a public outcry in recent news.

According to Africa News, old baobab trees in Kenya are threatened to be uprooted. Mainly located in Sub-Saharan Africa, scientists believe the tree helps against climate change.

An environmental researcher at Kenyatta University, Duncan Omwami, stated the following:

“If we look at the composition of the baobab tree itself, it is a tree that is able to store large volumes of water, it is able to survive in different environmental conditions and baobab, by research, has been identified as the best tree that can be able to help in combating the effects of climate change.”

Some farmers, however, believe that the trees take up too much space in their farms and don’t generate any income.

A resident of Kibuyuni, Coast Province, Kenya, Mohammed Bakari, argued the following:

“In the old days, the baobab tree was very important culturally to us. This is not the case nowadays. It also occupies too much space in our small farms in which we plant maize and vegetables. That is why we have chopped the trees down or have planted our crops far away from where the trees are.”

Under Kenya’s laws, baobab trees are not a protected species. But since the fruit produced by the tree recently gained international recognition as a superfood, this may encourage the farmers to preserve their trees and sell the fruits for profit.

That way, everyone wins.

Until Next Time…

(Sources)

Photo Credit: Fine Art America

Kenya’s baobab trees face new threats Volume 90%  . Africa News. (2022, December 25). Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/25/kenyas-baobab-trees-face-new-threats//