By Goth Mohamed Goth
Hargeisa-The Ministry of Environment and Rural Development on Wednesday (15/04/2020) kicked off a national tree planting exercise as part of a strategic campaign to increase forest cover in the country.
Minister of the Environment and Rural Development, Hon Shukri Haji Ismail Bandare speaking during the event held at the ministry’s headquarters said, “Developing countries face many environmental challenges, including climate change, improving energy efficiency and waste management, addressing air pollution, water quality and scarcity, and loss of natural habitats and biodiversity.
“Ministry of the Environment and Rural Development is working day and night to educate people who are destroying the environment that the physical environment is fragile and indispensable we can begin fixing the problems that threaten it”, she said.
But at the same time, she acknowledged that it would take time to iron out sustainable and enforceable solutions.
The Environment Minister added, “Since these natural resources are limited, and human activities are the causative factors for environmental degradation, each one of us needs to feel responsible to protect the environment, even those who want to financially benefit (Charcoal Business) before it’s too late. “Instead of cutting down rare indigenous trees which are hard to replace there are trees such as “Garan-waaga” which can be used for charcoal because of its wide availability.
“How can we be so thoughtless, what are we going to leave our children and the generations to come?” She exclaims.
“All Somalilanders, young and old are encouraged to go out and plant as many trees as possible this year as we seek to reverse environmental degradation by doubling forest cover. The Ministry of Environment and Rural Development distribute more than 92 thousand trees for people to plant in the rainy season.
Ministry of Environment and Rural Development has on several occasion in the past raised alarm over the quick rate of the deforestation and erosion are often the end result of harvesting wood for charcoal to be used as cooking fuel.
