ECO-POLITICS

Politics has taken over conservation matters, climate change and habitat degradation. political leadership has failed to deliver on this matters. develop nations don't want to cut on green house gas emission for fear that there economies will stagnate. Developing countries on the other hand are saying that their economies can never industrialize implying carbon emission to them is very justified. But the real reason is that this leaders fear to loose their political office. To reverse the effects of climate change and habitat degradation,politicians have to put aside their selfish interest and save planet earth by passing laws that will help to curb green house gas emissions.
Nations should encourage the use of clean technologies by ensuring their is technology transfer between nations, organizations and people found degrading the environment should be heavily punished. As we are heading towards the world environmental day, let the political leadership of the world take a meaningful step to save the world from an ecological disaster. Less talk and more action.

MUTUALISTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORESTS AND MAN

Forests and and humans cannot do without each other, this is because they are mutually related and benefit from each other in a number of ways;ecological, socially and economically.Humans have to protect and conserve the forests in order to derive benefits from the resource. An example is of the medicinal herb found in Kakamega forest called Mondia whitei; this climber has several medicinal components used to treat sexully transmitted diseases, anorexia, stomach ailements, it is an aphrodisiac and treats many other ailements. This has resulted to the forest being conserved and declared a national reserve.
Forests have also contributed economically to the economies of varoius African countries, example Uganda benefits alot from eco-tourism by tourists visiting the endangered mountain gorrila in bwindi impenetrable forests in south west uganda, this has seen the forest being declared a biosphere due to its importance ecologically and hence benefiting by not being destructed.
Forests are also a habitat to forest based communities, example the ba'ka in congo forest and the Okiek communities in Mau forest. This communities have been known to be the keepers of the forests and there lively hoods is entirely dependant on the forests. From food, worship and getting treatment from medicinal trees and herbs in the forest.
Humanity cannot afford to destroy this age long relationship with the forest because we are bound to suffer. Let us nature this relationship for our mutual benefit.

GALLERY OR RIPARIAN FORESTS

Gallery or Riparian forests are type of forests that grow adjacent to rivers, streams or lakes. Example include the Amazon gallery forests that grow adjacent to the Amazon river. Locally here in Kenya we have Bura gallery forests, lower Tana river forests and Tana river nature reserve among many others. This forests play important role in ecology, example they act as wildlife corridors and are home to endemic and endangered flora and fauna. The endangered red colobus monkey(procolobus ruformitratus) is found in Lower Tana  river gallery forests.
The forests also act as bio-filters by preventing sediments from reaching water bodies and trap chemicals from overland water flow contributing to down stream water quality .
Gallery forests stabilize stream banks by providing deep root systems which hold sol in place and provide a degree of roughness capable of slowing run off velocities and spread flow during storm surges.
Riparian forests today face a number of threats most of them being anthropogenic or human caused like vegetation cutting, burning, grazing, mining among others. Let us protect the gallery forests, they are an important component of the riverine ecosystem.