The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) today hosted a delegation from the State Department for Irrigation for a benchmarking visit to the KFS Information Centre, as part of ongoing plans to establish a National Irrigation Information Centre.
The delegation was received by Senior Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests for Forest Conservation and Management Dr Ngoriareng, representig the CCF. They were led by Irrigation Secretary Eng. Vincent Kabuti, OGW, Director for Land Reclamation and Climate Resilience Thandi Githae, and Dr. Poolad Karimi, Lead of the Global Informatics Unit at the World Bank Group.
The discussions focused on opportunities for collaboration in water resource mapping, understanding the water cycle, and supporting tree cover restoration in ASAL areas through integrated information systems and climate resilience approaches.
The session was led by Mr. Benedict Omondi, Manager for Quality Assurance and Risk Management. GIS/RS Officer Alice Katunge provided an overview of the structure and functions of the Forest Information Management Units and highlighted how they support projects across KFS.
The delegation later toured the Forest Information Labs and the Command Centre, where Fire Department Project Manager Mr. Ithinji demonstrated the fire monitoring systems and technologies used by KFS to support forest protection and rapid response.
The engagement reinforced the importance of partnerships, data-driven systems, and institutional collaboration in advancing sustainable natural resource management and climate resilience initiatives.
