Authorities challenged to ensure trees survivor rate

Authorities are being implored to effectively invest in strategies that will ensure total survival rate of trees that have been planted in the 2023/2024 National Forestry Season.

This year’s planting season concluded last month and was under the theme; ‘Forest Innovation in Action: Reforestation for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.

The planting season is spear headed by the ministry of natural resources and climate change with primary objective of fostering awareness regarding the significance of trees and forests.

About 40 million trees were planted this season beating the initial 34 million target.

However, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) executive director Herbert Mwalukomu has argued that success of the objective of the exercise will only be made possible if more trees survive.

“Tree planting is just one of the initiatives and it is only successful when those trees survive and for trees to survive, it means you have to go back and look at them and ensure that you do the necessary weeding because some of them end up dying,” Mwalukomo explained.

Mwalukumo further indicated the importance of formulating laws that protect tree specifically in protected areas such as government reserves and national parks.

“Even at community level where we have got village forest areas, let us make sure that those areas are secured enough through patrols but also ensuring that we have necessary bylaws to help safeguard them (trees),” he says.