Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry and partners on Thursday launched a school tree planting program to combat climate change in Central Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria states.
The ministry and Africa Democracy and Resilience Network (ADRNET), a local organisation, along with students, officially launched a tree planting initiative to combat climate change, enhance food security and improve public health at Green-Hill Primary School in Gudele.
Speaking at the launch at Green-Hill Primary School, Izaru James, ADRNET Executive Director, highlighted the project’s roots in a 2021 government commitment to plant 1.5 million trees nationwide.
According to ADRNET, this initiative comes as parts of South Sudan continue to battle severe climate shocks, including extreme heat.
“We take that initiative very seriously,” James stated. “We need to start from our side. We are targeting schools in Terekeka, Central Equatoria, Magwi County, Torit County, Kajo-Keji, and Yei County for now.”
“One of the key activities is the planting of trees in the schools. So, in all these counties, we’ll make sure that at least by this year, each school should have at least 300 seedlings.”
The urgency of tree planting was underscored by Hannah Alex, a Senior Four student and environmental club leader, who vividly recalled the impact of recent heatwaves.
Earlier this year, in February, extreme heat forced the closure of schools in Juba and other areas for weeks, directly affecting students’ academic performance.
“We were sent home for holidays because of a heat wave,” Hannah recounted. “I know that the heat wave came because we do not have many trees that would help in the formation of rainfall. This resulted in global warming, which made our country have a lot of heat. That is what made us be sent home. This affected our studies greatly, especially for me as a Senior Four student. We would have covered a lot of things in that period, which we wasted at home.”
Jaden Tongun Emilio, the Under-Secretary for Forestry at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, urged students to embrace tree planting as a collective duty.
He reminded them of President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s 2021 launch of a 100-million-tree planting project, a contribution to the global Paris Climate Agreement.
“When it is launched by the President… it is a duty for all of us, from us who are in the offices to you people who are in the schools,” Emilio emphasized.
This nationwide effort aims to build a greener, more resilient South Sudan for current and future generations.
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