PLANTING trees in our society at this time is important to control environmental pollution which threaten the world, especially now when rains are falling.
A tree farm and a forest can be started by planting seedlings or seeds directly to the soil, however this is not a common thing, but it is possible if the relevant seeds are large with a length of not less than 1 centimeter (cm).
The planted seedlings can recover and grow well, so it is necessary to match the type of trees and the place of planting, prepare the ground well to help the roots penetrate easily and absorb nutrients, control weeds, dig deep and make wide holes.
In addition, it is encouraged to leave a suitable space between the trees to put fertilizer where it is appropriate, the purpose of planting trees must be known before planting, choosing the type of trees to plant and the distance between the tree will depend on the intended use when the trees are harvested.
The purpose may be to obtain energy (wood, charcoal or both), timber, poles, shade, decoration, fruit, medicine, soil fertilization or soil erosion prevention. Trees grow well if they are planted in an area where the environment matches the needs of the respective tree species.
So it is good when choosing trees to plant to match the type of trees with the right environment. The trees that need to be planted here in Tanzania are of many types, both natural and exotic.
Tanzania is a large country with areas that differ in terms of soil fertility and depth, the amount of base or acidity in the soil, climate (rainfall and temperature), altitude from sea level, distance from the seashore, slopes or plains.
With that logic, there is need to provide guidance to help citizens in the exercise of matching the type of trees and the appropriate place to plant them.
Due to our nation's commitment to be at the forefront to ensure that we create a green country due to the presence of many trees, the Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) in the lake region continues to encourage citizens in different areas to use this period well to restore the environment for planting many trees.
In order to facilitate the availability of seedlings for planting trees, TFS in the Lake Region have started digging a dam in Bugato, Ng'haya Ward in Magu district at a cost of 134.6m/ to increase efforts to obtain seedlings to be planted in the area.
Lake Zone TFS Manager, Mr Bakari Mohammed said that the dam with a size of 29,708 square meters started to be dug in July of this year and is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2023.
He said that the dam, which is being dug using government funds, is expected to help with maintenance of the forest garden to serve the people in various ways, including for livestock and agriculture.
Mr Mohammed added that in achieving the issue of environmental protection, efforts by development stakeholders are important to achieve such success in the country.
"I ask all the leaders from village, ward, district, region and national levels to have a mission helping people understand the importance of taking care of the forests and all the creatures that exist therein," said Mr Mohammed.
He asked all citizens to understand that the care of the resource is for their benefit as the negative effects that continue today in several areas affects human development. Citizens of Isandula and Ng'haya Wards in Magu district in Mwanza region expressed their joy due to the various types of trees they planted during this rainy season to face the challenge of environmental damage.
Tanzania Forest Conservator (TFS) in Magu District, Mr Aloyce Pascal said that during this ongoing rainy season they have distributed more than 50,000 seedlings to enable people to plant in their areas to deal with the lack of trees. He said that they are using meetings held in various places to encourage them to take trees so that they can plant them especially during this period when the rains continue to fall.
"We use leaflets, advertisements and the media to make the community realize that we have a lot of tree seedlings because we have planted 300,000 seedlings for them and we are giving them away for free," said Mr Pascal.
He said that due to the continued disappearance of natural vegetation, they have focused more on institutions and schools where there are many people to support the goal of making Magu green.
A resident of Isandula Ward, Mr Alfred Mataba said he has a habit of planting different types of trees every year in his area. He said that he has already planted fruit, shade and wood trees, asking other citizens to be motivated to fight the environmental damage that continues to cause harm to humans.
A teacher at Mwabulanga Primary School in Ng'haya Ward, Ms Anna Francis thanked TFS for bringing 4700 seedlings to their area and planting all of them and now the trees have taken root.
Ms Lulu Athman from Mwabulanga village urged herders to stop their animals from destroying the trees because the responsibility of taking care of the environmental should be shared by all.
She said that because they have been motivated to plant many trees, changes will be seen later, so she asked all citizens to use the rains to bring about the green change.
The Forestry Agency in the lake region has natural and planted forests with a size of 431,277.08 hectares in different areas that they manage.
The TFS Manager in the Lake Zone Mr Mohammed said that Tanzania continues to lose a lot of forests, where 372,000 hectares are lost every year due to human activities while the situation in the world by the year 2020 was a loss of 42 percent per year.
The Tanzania Forest Service Agency TFS was legally established through the Government Gazette Announcement (GN 269) dated 30/7/2010 and officially launched on 18/7/2011 to serve the forestry sector more closely.
Mr Mohammed said that cutting of trees is rampant in this country while efforts to plant more trees is low due to poverty, asking people around forest reserves to plant trees in a big number especially during this rainy season.
Mr Mohammed said that since they plant more than 7 million seedlings every year in their gardens for shade trees, timber and fruits trees, he urged the community to use this opportunity to bring about green changes in their areas as they distribute them for free to the community.
He said the gardens where they produce the seeds which they distribute to institutions, schools and citizens are located in Musoma, Bariadi, Bukoba, Nyamagana, Geita, Misungwi and Chato.
He urged all people to strive to prevent the destruction of the world's forests due to the increased human activities such as agriculture, breeding, housing, cutting down trees for business, domestic use and mining.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Mr Mohammed said that in order to ensure that there is sustainable management of forests and bee resources, it is necessary to implement the 5-year strategic plan for the development of forest and bee resources to end poverty.
He added that other measures include preserving more forest areas, establishing new reserve forests, tree plantations and supporting the establishment of village forests, group forests and establishing tree planting associations in the private sector.
Other strategies include raising the status of natural forests, collaborative management of forests and existence of national campaigns for planting trees in areas damaged by deforestation. Mr Mohammed said other strategies include develop and improving seed centers, have a better land program, collect government revenue and increase sources of revenue, improve systems of collection and use of funds.
He added that another way is to identify and strengthen borders, remove invaders, prepare forest management plans, strengthen regular patrols and controlling fires and other harms.
Thus, he said TFS Lake Region intends to continue promoting awareness among Tanzanians and stakeholders on the great benefit obtained from forest resources, as well as continuing to protect and preserving forest resources in cooperation with other stakeholders.
He also added that the government will give the forestry sector a priority considering its great importance in contributing to economic growth in other sectors such as tourism, agriculture, livestock, water, education, industries, electricity and energy.
