Ministry targets to plant 34m trees
Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change says it is targeting to plant 34 million tree seedlings during the 2023/24 National Forestry Season which started on Friday.
The target represents a 32 percent decrease from last season’s 50 million tree seedlings planted.
In an interview on Thursday, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change Principal Secretary Yusuf Mkungula said there are several measures put in place to ensure high survival rate of the seedlings despite the dry spell that has affected some parts of the country.
He said the measures include the use of water harvesting technology for tree planting and management.
Said Mkungula: “To ensure the survival of seedlings amidst the dry spell, innovative restoration technologies such as the use of eyebrows are being employed across the country thus the theme for this year, ‘Forest innovation in action: Reforestation for a sustainable tomorrow’.
“In Phalombe District, for example, the Food for Assets Creation programme by World Vision incentivises communities to use water harvesting technology for tree planting and management.”
He said the year’s National Tree-Planting Season will be officially launched by President Lazarus Chakwera next year and that various stakeholders have partnered the government to achieve this season’s target.
“The programme is funded by the government, World Vision, the Tobacco Commission, and other relevant stakeholders committed to restoring degraded forest landscapes,” he said.
Former minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Eisenhower Mkaka is on record as having said the survival rate of about 40 million trees planted during the 2021/22 Forestry Season was at 65 percent.
During the launch of the 2022/23 National Forestry Season, the President urged Malawians to stop using charcoal as a source of energy and find other alternatives such as renewable energy, saying human invasion and deforestation have for the past years derailed Malawi’s aspirations of replenishing forest.
