By Patience Lunda:
The Department of Forestry has set a target of 40 million tree seedlings to be planted in the 2024-25 National Forestry Season. Last year’s target was 34 million trees.
The department says out of the 40 million tree seedlings, 33.4 million trees would be planted on customary land, with 6.6 million trees being planted in plantations. This is coming against the background that the survival rate for trees that were planted during the 2022-23 season dropped to 60 percent, down from 65 percent in the 2021-22 season, when 40 million trees were planted.
Deputy Director of Forestry Titus Zulu said 38.9 million tree seedlings were planted, surpassing the 34 million tree seedlings which were targeted last year.
However, Zulu noted several challenges that affected tree survival, including livestock damage, dry spells that caused trees to wither, and floods, which washed away some planted trees.
Zulu said this notwithstanding, tree planting seasons have proven to be beneficial to Malawi.
“The National Forestry Season has also helped in job creation, in terms of tree planting and management, including nursery operations, planting and management of trees in government plantations.
“In addition, forests have been established in degraded areas,” he said.
Ripple Africa, a stakeholder in tree-planting initiatives, has meanwhile said there is a need to change the approach to tree ownership. The organisation’s executive director Force Ngwira said there was a need for constant tracking of tree growth and introduction of alternative energy sources.
“The secret to a good tree survival rate is individual ownership because people are able to see that planting trees is a business, unlike targeting a group of people who may not follow up on how the trees are growing.
“On our part, since we started, we have planted three million trees annually on 15 hectares,” Ngwira said.
During the launch of the 2023-24 National Forestry Season, President Lazarus Chakwera urged community members to collaborate with the government in restoring natural resources to mitigate the impacts of climate change and its impacts.
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