Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources, Nancy Tembo has urged the public to embrace the spirit of tree planting.
She made the remarks on Monday during tree planting exercise which was organized by Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) and Trocaire at the catchment area of Lilongwe River situated at Katete Farm in Lilongwe.
Tembo said that trees are vital to everyday human life hence it was everyone’s responsibility to take part in tree planting.
“It is everybody’s responsibility to plant trees, we all need tree for fuel wood, oxygen, construction and we all need trees for almost everything which we do every day, in fact we need trees more than trees need us.
“We cannot spend a day without using something made from trees and trees also help to conserve environment and make sure that we have adequate water, in addition trees helps to mitigate climate change issues such as drought,” she said.
Tembo added that government wants to plant 60 million trees across the country during tree planting season which commenced in December 2020 and scheduled to run up to April 2021.
The Minister commended LWB for supporting government in conserving environment in the country particularly on the sources of Lilongwe River.
“I would like to thank LWB for continued support to government efforts of conserving the source of Lilongwe River by assisting the Department of Forestry in different areas.
“For instance, three weeks ago LWB handed over one of the three houses for the forest guards that have been constructed with their support and we are not taking this thing for granted,” she said.
Tembo applauded Trocair for its contribution towards environmental conservation in the country which includes provision of 1000 bamboo seedlings which were planted at Katete Farm.
LWB Board Chairperson, Engineer George Kajanga said that LWB was committed to plant more trees in Lilongwe especially on Lilongwe River catchment.
“We are aware that water is stored well when we have vegetation such as trees, for this reason we are committed to plant more trees particularly along Lilongwe River catchment area so that we can conserve its environment in order for the river to have more water,” he said.
The tree planting exercise was featured by students from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (RUANAR) and 2,000 trees were planted during the exercise.
