Nationwide tree planting planned

DAILY NEWS Reporter

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Environment and Union, Mr January Makamba.

A COUNTRYWIDE tree-planting programme will start this month, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, has announced.

Speaking during a meeting between him and the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Environment and Union, Mr January Makamba, Mr Maghembe also revealed that a joint meeting of the two ministries will be held in Dar es Salaam starting January 16.

The meeting will hammer out a strategy to implement the tree planting campaign. Professor Maghembe, who headed the water ministry, in the last government, explained the inseparable link between water and life as he underscored the importance of the planned campaign.

Water is the source of life and in its natural and in pure form it provides natural minerals to all living things; it brings life and protection using cells. The minister said there has been extensive deforestation and degradation of the environment, adding that the planned programme seeks to check deforestation and degradation of nature and stabilize the ecosystem.

He said huge tracts of land have been set aside for a forestation and environment protection with the aim of protecting water sources, purifying air, increasing the amount of rain in the country, reducing heat in the atmosphere and checking desertification effects.

Minister Makamba said activities of all ministries, public and private institutions have impact on environment, adding that there is every reason for public and private sectors to co-operate to protect environment.

He said the coming programme is one of its kind, explaining that local authorities will enlist cooperation of the people so that at the individual level people feel proud of planting trees in their plots.

The minister said the overall aim and expectations of the two ministries are to use this programme to effect permanent change on nature so that after five years the benefits from the scheme relating to forestation and nature protection will be speaking for themselves.

“We are pushing for result-oriented scheme so that after five years the results of this programme will be obvious to all; there will be no need for anyone to speak for themselves,” he said.

He said if the programme will be implemented carefully and successfully, the results will win approval of Tanzanians and outsiders for the good of this nation.