Congo/Environment : Brazzaville adopts a reforestation strategy

Brazzaville's urban forestry strategy was validated on June 23 by municipal authorities and the World Resources Institute (WRI). It aims to step up tree planting throughout the city, in order to combat the effects of climate change.

The reforestation plan for the capital was approved in the presence of the deputy mayor, Dieudonné Bantsimba. The plan involves a tree-planting operation to be carried out by the mayor's office in conjunction with WRI. The operation will involve organizing a vast tree-planting campaign across the city's arteries and green spaces, with the aim of increasing its vegetation cover by 25% by 2030.

The approved strategy is based on five priorities, each with its own strategic objectives. These include increasing the canopy across the capital city by planting a tree in every location; ensuring the diversification of tree species across arterial roads; protecting existing tree species and all other urban forest ecosystems.

As part of this strategy, an implementation plan has been drawn up. It identifies, district by district, the arteries and public spaces on which trees will be planted, as well as species adapted to each zone.

For the deputy mayor of Brazzaville, the project is a timely solution to a real problem that the city has been facing for many years.

" Studies show that in 70 years, Brazzaville has lost 85% of its forests to urbanization. If appropriate measures are not taken, our capital city will lose its label of Brazza la verte. Indeed, of the five forest massifs Brazzaville had in the 1940s, only the Patte d'oie forest remains, and its surface area is shrinking with each passing day due to urban pressure ", lamented Dieudonné Bantsimba.

Source: www.adiac-congo.com