BUJUMBURA May 9th (ABP) – The Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Déo Guide Rurema, said on Tuesday during a press briefing that the “Ewe Burundi Urambaye” program initiated as part of the 2018-2019 Tree Planting Campaign, is well underway.
On a forecast of 3,000,000 (three million) tree seedlings, 51,921,465 were produced and planted at the national level, with the help of partners. Of those planted, 30,349,790 plants are agroforestry, 19,330,805 are forest and 2,240,870 are fruit trees.
As a continuation of the implementation of the program, Minister Rurema calls on all stakeholders in the sector to work in synergy to produce native and agroforestry plants that will be used to replace forest species that consume a lot of water in the protection area of the shallows and marshes as well as in the perimeters of protection of the water sources, but also, the necessary plants for the restoration of the landscapes.
He invited stakeholders to start the nursery production works in time for the 2019-2020 tree planting season, while taking into account the ecological zones.
The minister in charge of the environment urges the people to attend massively the environmental protection works organized every Thursday to contribute to sustainable soil management and environmental sanitation by preserving and restoring landscapes on a national level.
Those works will also increase the income of the people, ensure the food security of communities and cope with shocks of climate change.
He asks stakeholders in the production and planting of tree seedlings to work in synergy to ensure the ongoing maintenance and protection of trees against all forms of destruction such as bushfires, uprooting and animal pests.
It then becomes urgent, he said, to begin maintenance works on the afforestation with particular emphasis on firebreaks during community development works with the involvement of the local administration and other stakeholders.
