Namibia has joined the world in the commemoration of Arbor Day, also known as national tree planting day, to create awareness on the importance of conserving trees.
The government has dedicated every second Friday of October annually as the tree planting day since 1992 and joins 61 countries globally that have pledged to observe the day and restore 170 million hectares of degraded forest lands.
In his commemoration media statement issued on Friday, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, said Namibia’s observation of the day is to create awareness on the fundamental role trees play in environmental sustainability and social economy.
Shifeta said the theme ‘Forest restoration: A path to recovery and wellbeing’ screams the important role forests play in the livelihoods of local communities directly and how they contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
“In Namibia, we encourage value addition and social-economic development for our people. Hence, under the provision of Forest Act no 12 of 2001, there is a restriction on the exportation of unprocessed timber,” he indicated.
He noted that the government has a role to protect and manage forest resources for sustainable use through the implementation of vigilant forest patrols for illegal loggers, as well as the issuing of permits, adding that however, the conservation of trees is not the responsibility of the government alone, but that of every Namibian.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
