Salima District is set to plant four million trees to address climate change shocks such as floods that have become more frequent in recent years.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Salima district land resource conservation officer Gift Majawa said the tree-planting exercise will be implemented in the district’s 18 catchment areas under the Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme.
He said the exercise comes after participants have finished implementing soil and water conservation initiatives such as making swales, reclaiming gullies and constructing stone bunds.
“In the meantime, participants have established tree nurseries for the 2024/25 National Tree Growing Season,” he said.
Salima acting director of natural resources and environment Adam Jason commended re-afforestation efforts under the programme.
“Forestry landscape restorative approach is commendable. This project has an initiative where participants are restoring the vegetative cover by replanting trees and taking care of areas where there are natural trees,” he said.
A community member John Chikazingwa, from Traditional Authority Kalonga said Salima, being a flood-prone district, needs interventions such as tree-planting.
“Due to deforestation, soil erosion has become rampant, thereby rendering the land less fertile for crop production. It is only through planting trees that we can prevent it,” he said.
Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme supported by the World Bank and the Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
Source: The nation Jordan Simeon Phiri-correspondent-14 November 2024