The Republic of the Congo has embarked on a vast tree-planting program to guard against the twin scourges of deforestation and soil degradation that plague many African states. The country is one of 10 central African nations that make up the Congo basin, which holds the world’s second-largest tropical rain forest after the Amazon Basin in South America.
The region has been hit hard by the pressures of deforestation, as limited access to electricity forces people to cut down trees to serve their heating and lighting needs, with coal fueled stoves still dominant in food preparation.
The Republic of the Congo’s US$2.5 billion plan calls for 1 million hectares of trees to be planted within 10 years and should, according to the forest ministry, create 50,000 new jobs.
The initiative comes from a country that has in the past been tipped as a continental leader in environmental conservation. Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso was in 2009 named the African Union’s lead climate change spokesperson ahead of the much-hyped Copenhagen climate talks that ultimate failed to produce a breakthrough deal.
The Republic of the Congo, whose territory is between 60 percent and 65 percent forest, also has the lowest deforestation rate (0.07 percent per year) of the 10 Congo basin states.
The problem is far more acute in the neighboring the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the UN’s environment program says deforestation is intensifying because of growing energy demand.
However, at the launch of the program on Monday, where volunteers — and the president — planted 160,000 trees, Republic of the Congo officials said they wanted to take preventive measures to guard against depletion of the country’s natural resources.
The aim of the tree-planting plan “is to relieve pressure exercised by mankind on natural forests by reducing deforestation and the degradation of the soil,” Republic of the Congo Minister of Forestry Economy Henri Djombo said at the event in Yie, 60km north of the capital.
The Brazzaville government will contribute 300 million euros to the project, while donor nations and other organizations have been asked for 1.5 billion euros.
“It’s a whole program to struggle against poverty and climate change. This is a position that our country defends throughout the world and which I think does us honor,” Sassou Nguesso said at the launch.
“I have just planted eight trees for the first time,” said Jennifer Tindila, 20, who traveled with her grandfather, Philippe Matoko, 73, to take part in the event.
“I am moved because I have contributed to the development of my country,” added the young law student, who wore a T-shirt proclaiming “For a green economy, plant more trees.”
Walking hand in hand with her grandfather, Jennifer carefully avoided the small holes where various types of tree were being planted.
“To plant a tree is to make the economy last,” Matoko said. “A tree is a gift, a wood which you shouldn’t compare with petrol, which can run out.”
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