Combatting Climate Change in Lilongwe: Tingathe Youth Organization to Plant 10,000 Trees through "Mtengo wanga" Project
The organization has already planted 1,500 and 3,034 trees in some areas of Traditional Authorities Malili and Tsabango, respectively.
Malawi: As the effects of climate change continue to ravage the country, the Lilongwe-based Tingathe Youth Organization (TYO) has launched a tree planting project called "Mtengo Wanga" aimed at planting 10,000 trees in the district, writes Benson Kamonjola.
The organization has already planted 1,500 and 3,034 trees in some areas of Traditional Authorities Malili and Tsabango, respectively.
In an interview, TYO's Executive Director, Ronald Gondwe, said the project, which began in December 2022, aims to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change that the country experiences.
"As inclusion has always been proven to be a paramount weapon in the fight against global matters such as climate change, we thought it wise to play our part in a bid to succeed in this fight," Gondwe said.
According to Gondwe, some climate change-related challenges are man-made, citing the annual floods the country experiences, particularly in the Lower Shire and other parts of the country.
In a separate interview, environmental rights activist Emmanuel Yokonia expressed his support for the initiative, saying this is the right step that can propel the mitigation of climate change impacts.
“However, Yokonia also emphasized that "if we are to succeed in this fight, the government has to allocate a lot of resources to the Ministry responsible in order to manage to realize the government's goal of restoring 4.5 hectares of forest by 2030,” said Yokonia.
The National Coordinator for the Afro Green Initiative, Malango Kaila, also believes that such initiatives, if taken seriously, could help to easily deal with environmental problems.
"It's eye-watering that every year during the rainy season, the government launches tree planting season but we still lag behind in monitoring the planted trees in order to bear the intended purpose," Kaila said.
Despite the potential impact of the project, the group is facing financial constraints and is unable to procure enough tree seedlings.
The group said it is confident that, if assisted with the seedlings, they can do more than what they have done and plans to train some community members on how to make briquettes in areas where they are planting their trees as one way of ensuring further loss of trees they have planted through charcoal burning.