The Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources declared the period between 15 December 2021 to 15 April 2022 as a National Tree Planting Season which is further aimed at building a responsible citizenry that cares for trees.
Thus, in complementing the government’s efforts, YONECO embarked on community awareness activities in order to promote a culture of planting and caring for trees. Recently, YONECO organized an interfaced meeting with community members around the rea of Traditional Authority (TA) Liwonde in Machinga district.
During the session, community members discussed a number of reasons why they should have trees in their area. The meeting agreed apart from providing various resources to the community, trees contribute towards environmental conservation and prevention of natural disasters like flash floods by holding and slowing runoff of water.
“Every person benefits from trees. Thus, the growth of our population automatically translates into more trees required to meet the increased demand. This is why we should plant more trees and protect the ones we already have,” Mary Chimenya – Project Officer for YONECO.
YONECO has also established a demonstration plot where community members in the areas are being trained on how to manage a tree nursery.
This year, it is anticipated that about 40 million trees will be planted across Malawi.
