On 26 August 2024, The WW+ team joined partners in Baringo in Kenya to celebrate the removal of Prosopis juliflora, also known as Mathenge, from Lake Bogoria National Reserve.

The event was attended by several key leaders from Baringo County, including Baringo County Governor Benjamin Cheboi, Area Member of the County Assembly, Deputy Speaker Kipruto Kimosop, several members of Baringo County Executive Committee, Deputy Director of KEFRI, Dr James Ndufa, and KWS County Warden Grace Wendot.

Baringo County Governor, Benjamin Cheboi, commended the partners of the WW+ team for prioritizing the need to eliminate the invasive plant that has choked the environment especially killing Lesser Flamingos, a worldwide threatened bird species and the main tourist attraction of Lake Bogoria NR, and supressing the growth of native vegetation.

He said, “Today is a very important day for this county and other counties that have suffered the challenges of the invasive Mathenge. We are very thankful for this project because the negative impact of this tree has far outweighed its benefits, affecting approximately 50,000 acres of land in Baringo. Our goal now is to reclaim this land so that local communities can invest in valuable crops like Aloe vera and improve the livestock farming that sustains them. This area is crucial for tourism and wildlife, and we need to remove Mathenge because it threatens to destroy the pastureland vital for both wildlife and cattle.”