LÉO, SISSILI – The province of Sissili in the Central-West region of Burkina Faso marked the delayed 6th edition of National Tree Day on Friday, July 26, 2024, with the planting of 150 trees in the town of Léo. This year’s event also launched the provincial campaign to restore vegetation under the theme “Tree, a resilience capital for indigenous development.”

According to Burkina Information Agency, the provincial director in charge of the Environment, the event saw the planting of various tree species across two roundabouts and along a kilometer stretch in Léo. Yéyé also noted that the broader reforestation campaign plans to plant about 77,450 trees of different species and sow 50 kg of Detarium seeds across Sissili. He highlighted the rapid degradation of forest resources in Burkina Faso, citing a study by the Permanent Secretariat for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Sp/Reed+), which showed a drastic reduction in forest area from 6,956,631 hectares in 2000 to 5,177,777 hectares in 2022. Yéyé stressed that to reverse this trend, the country needs to recover 296,104 hectares of degraded land annually.

Kassoum Koalaga, President of the Special Delegation of the commune of Léo, praised the strong mobilization around the event and thanked the organizers for choosing his community to host this year’s celebration. He reiterated the critical role of trees in life and committed on behalf of the local government and citizens to ensure the success of the provincial reforestation campaign.

High Commissioner of Sissili, Tewindé Isaac Sia, called on opinion leaders, officials at all levels, and the entire provincial population to recognize the need to restore and safeguard natural resources, which are vital for sustainable development. Sia particularly urged the presidents of special delegations to invest more in the restoration and preservation of forest resources, integrating these efforts into their development plans.