With the country bearing the brunt of climate change and the resultant devastation it causes in communities and economies, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has launched the One Million Trees campaign.
"We have witnessed fires, deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, and prolonged droughts. These events underscore our shared vulnerability, but also our shared responsibility to act, to adapt, and to do so in a way that leaves no one behind.
"Tree planting is one of the mitigating factors that are recommended to slow down this environmental threat. It is for this reason that the department is pursuing the coordination and implementation of the National Greening Programme," said Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Bernice Swarts.
Speaking on Monday at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, Swarts said to ensure that South Africans benefit from the National Greening Programme, President Cyril Ramaphosa directed that 10 million trees, comprised of 60 percent fruit and 40 percent indigenous, be planted in the country over a period of five years, ending in 2026.
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The initiative, which links to goal 13 of Sustainable Development Goals, is a clarion call to South Africans from all walks of life to participate and contribute towards the greening of the country.
The Deputy Minister put forth a challenge to plant one million trees in a single day - on 24 September 2025 during Heritage Day - while celebrating Arbour Month.
"We are calling on all South Africans to join hands in greening our country. This is an all of society campaign which calls on collaboration by government departments, municipalities, civil society organisations, non-government organisations, corporates, students and learners, churches and the public at large to plant at least one million trees for the benefit of our country.
"I have started conversations with different role players, and it came as a surprise when I saw the response. Some were asking "what can we assist with" - "how can we be part of this" - and so on. In no time, we had already amassed a lot of support - most have responded positively, though we are in the process of tallying commitments and pledges in this regard."
She said the greening programme was taking place at a time when the environment of the country and indeed the entire Africa was counting the cost of climate change, and drastic measures are urgently needed for a swift recovery.
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"South Africa's G20 Presidency's Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group prioritisation of Land degradation, desertification and drought highlights their direct threat to economies, food security, and sustainable development. Planting trees helps to combat these phenomena."
