THE Forestry Commission has scaled up tree planting activities in a bid to meet this year’s target to plant 25 million trees nationally.

Last year the parastatal set a target of 20 million trees and managed to plant 16 million.

Zimbabwe loses 262 349 hectares to deforestation each year. Deforestation and subsequent land degradation are a threat to millions of people in Zimbabwe and around the world, affecting livelihoods and food security.

The major drivers of deforestation are clearing land for agriculture, settlement expansion, wood energy, mining activities and veld fires, among others.

To reverse the impact of deforestation in Zimbabwe, the Forestry Commission set a target to plant at least 25 million trees by year end.

Zimbabwe has set aside the first Saturday of every December as National Tree Planting Day to motivate the nation to plant and conserve trees, enlighten the nation on the importance of forests and to mitigate the impact of climate change.

This year’s theme is ‘‘Trees and Forests for Ecosystem Restoration and Improved Livelihoods’’.

The emphasis on ecosystem restoration is because of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), which is a global rallying cry to heal the planet.

This year’s main commemorations will be held at Lundi Primary School in Zvishavane on Saturday at an event that will be graced by President Mnangagwa.

In an interview, Forestry Commission general manager Mr Abedinigo Marufu said by the end of September, 12 million trees had been planted.

“We are saying due to the high rate of deforestation, we have to plant 25 million trees and we are working towards achieving this target. While planting of trees can be done throughout the year, the rain season is the best time as it provides the natural moisture necessary for the seedlings to thrive and mature into big trees and forests. We expect a lot of activity in tree planting up to the end of December. This is the peak of the tree planting season as we normally have about 5 million trees being planted,” Mr Marufu said.

He said this was the time they have had a marathon tree planting exercise around all provinces, as they have been encouraging various stakeholders to mainstream tree planting activities into their programmes.

He said the Forestry Commission, working with Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change, had also launched a tree planting competition titled “Trees and Forestry Fact Challenge” whereby individuals and co-operatives that plant the most trees win a prize.

“In our day-to-day activities, we are educating people on the importance of planting trees. We want people to plant trees and also understand why this is important. We have also urged farmers to practice agroforestry whereby they grow their crops and also plant trees in order to improve the condition of their crops and also practice forest management. Trees have an important role in the lives of people and we want them to understand this,” he said.

The Forestry Commission also launched a tree planting competition to promote planting of trees by members of the public and organisations during the peak of this year’s tree planting season.

The competition started on November 3 and will end on Friday.

During this period, competitors share their pictures and videos planting trees and share facts on trees or forests and stand a chance to win prizes. The videos can be shared on Facebook or Twitter. Winners will be announced on December 4 at the National Tree Planting Day commemorations. — @DubeMatutu