RWANDA TO PLANT 67 MILLION TREES
Rwandas policy of active re-forestation by 2020 an area covering 30 percent of the country with forests has been set as target has received a further boost when it was announced that over 67 million tree seedlings will be availed for planting to speed up the exercise. The Ministry for Forests and Natural Resources is at the forefront of the exercise but local administration personnel has been drafted in to support the planting at village level. Eastern province has been singled out as the part of Rwanda in greatest need of re-forestation and according to a source in Kigali about a fifth, or 13.5 million tree seedlings will be sent to that region for planting. Rwandas national policies of conservation and protecting biodiversity have made headlines around the world and the country is expected to be the main advocate for the passing of stricter environmental protection laws on the level of the East African Community, where only recently a crucial bill was deferred so that the forthcoming summit of heads of state could deal with principle questions on how such laws should or could affect plans by a national government to push through controversial projects without a neighbour having a say, yet suffering to the projected fallout and environmental degradation.
Rwandas forests have been subject to a range of articles right here, about the Nyungwe Forest National Park but also about Gishwati Forest, but there are always more stories to be told, so watch this space.
