Faced with the loss of forest cover in Kenya, the startup Seedballs and the Estonian mobility platform Bolt are launching a reforestation campaign to plant 11 million tree seeds in the country. The initiative, which benefits from the collaboration of several Nairobi-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has the dual objective of reforesting degraded land and mitigating the effects of climate change in this East African country.
As Kenya experiences both population growth and a lack of alternative livelihoods to forests that lead to tree felling and overgrazing, Seedballs start-up and Estonian mobility platform Bolt are committed to restoring the country’s forest cover, which is currently estimated at 7.5% by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The two partners have launched a forest and landscape restoration project that will see 11 million trees planted across the country.
The partnership between the companies aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by spreading 25 tons of native seeds on degraded lands. This will involve distributing tree and grass seeds by land and air throughout 2022, with support from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the Kampour Travel Foundation, Mother Earth Network, Project Eden, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
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In Kenya, deforestation is compounded by other environmental challenges such as soil erosion, desertification and biodiversity loss that are exacerbated by climate change. “We are reducing our environmental impact as a company through the purchase of carbon credits and have made Bolt scooters climate friendly. We have also launched electric bikes and actively promoted a car-free lifestyle. To date, we have neutralized the environmental footprint of more than 4.5 billion Bolt route miles,” Bolt officials say.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
