The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry last month planted over 2 000 trees and donated over 15 000 seedlings to the public countrywide under its "Tree Planting" project during the celebration of National Arbor Day.

The project, under the Directorate of Forestry, has so far planted thousands of trees in various parts of the country, including in the saline grasslands of Oshana, Oshikoto and Omusati regions.

The Ministry has established tree nurseries in all 13 regions of the country and seedlings produced are dispatched according to stakeholder needs at subsidised prices, as well as through donations to the general public, schools, youth groups and other institutions involved in tree planting.

Speaking during the International Arbor Day in Kavango last month, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa urged Namibians from all walks of life to make tree planting part of their daily activities in order to sustain the environment and fight poverty.

"We should promote all these trees in our day-to-day activities. If we are to plant many of these fruit tree species, we shall fight poverty in many rural areas of our country," he said.

Arbor Day has been celebrated in Namibia for the past 17 years with determination and commitment to sensitise the Namibian public on the importance of planting and maintaining trees in Namibia for the benefit of the whole country. This year, the day was celebrated in all the 13 regions under the theme, "Plant trees to fight poverty".

Every year an indigenous tree is selected as the tree of the year and this year's tree of the year is Berchemia discolor, locally known as Bird Plum (Omuye, Mukerete), and is well known for its delicious fruits that play an important role in people's diet. The fruits, which are juicy, sweet and contain vitamin C, are eaten raw, dried, and stored for later consumption.

The fruits are also used to make fruit juice, which can be fermented to produce wine and beer and further distilled to produce a strong spirit locally known in the northern regions as kashipembe or olambika.

Although Berchemia discolor trees are highly valued, protected and not harvested for fuel or other purposes, the wood makes excellent fuel wood and charcoal. The yellow-brown wood is hard, strong, durable, attractive and easy to work, producing a smooth finish, making it suitable for furniture and many other items, including ladders, tools, tool handles, cups, pestles, walking sticks, snuffboxes, smokers' pipes, window frames and poles for grain stores and others. Different parts of the tree are used to produce dyes valued in basket making.

Bird Plum is also used as a medicinal plant and is used for a variety of disorders.

Namibia is home to many other species of fruit trees which provide nutritious food to the majority of the country's rural population. These include Mangeti, Baobab, Marula, Jakals berries (Omwandi), Strychnos species (Maguni), fig tree (omukuyu), Hyphaene petersiana (Omulunga) and many others.

Apart from fruit trees, there are hundreds of tree species that are used for medicines, animal fodder, building materials and many more. However, a number of these species is now endangered. This includes the popular medicinal devil's claw, hoodia and many others. The Government has put measures in place to protect endangered species from illegal harvesting and export.

Trees are very important in providing habitats to small insects, birds, both wild and domesticated animals and reptiles. Therefore, when trees are destroyed, their livelihood is also destroyed.

Roots from the trees help to stabilise the ground by holding and binding soil particles together and also reduce the surface flow (flooding or erosion). Trees also help to retain rainwater in the soil, thus making more water available for plant/vegetation growth.

Human livelihood is also sustained by trees since trees provide the oxygen that people breathe, medicines as well as food sources.

In its commitment to fight deforestation and improve food security, the Ministry will continue to establish new woodlots and fruit tree orchards in different areas of the country, with particular emphasis in the areas where water is available in large quantities.