Nkhotakota people urged to plant trees

Nkhotakota District Council principal district forestry officer George Zibophe has urged communities in the district to plant trees and take care of them to ensure their survival.

He said this on Tuesday when the district launched the 2023/24 tree planting exercise at Dzikonilonse Primary School in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalimanjira.

Zibophe said the district plans to plant 1.3 million trees to replenish the lost vegetative cover and address land degradation.

He said about 70 percent of tree seedlings that were planted last year have survived.

“Stakeholders should take part in addressing some gaps in the tree-planting exercise, but our office will continue providing technical expertise for increased survival rate of the trees in the district,” said Zibophe.

Nkhotakota District Council chairperson Charles Chimzukuzuku said the council will ensure that they take the exercise to communities in line with environmental conservation activities.

On his part, T/A Kalimanjira said the exercise will restore degraded landscapes in his area which will benefit his community and future generations.

Various stakeholders, including the Government of Iceland, African Parks, Ripple Africa, Umunthu Plus, Bathu Premium Water and Wildlife Environmental Society of Malawi supported the tree-planting exercise in the district.

Last week, President Lazarus Chakwera launched the National Forestry Season at Mpasa Hill in Phalombe District with a call to people to protect forests.

The country is expected to plant 34 million trees in the 2023/24 National Forestry Season under the theme ‘Forest innovation in action: Reforestation for sustainable tomorrow’.