The High Commissioner of the Sissili province, Tewendé Isaac Sia, chaired on Friday September 8, 2023 in Léo, the launching ceremony of the reforestation campaign of 6,000 plants called “a child a fruit tree “. The campaign was initiated by the NGO “Guardian Angels of Nature” (AGN) through its project to support the sustainable and participatory management of protected areas.

After the national launch of Arbor Day 2023, under the theme “tree symbol of community resilience in a context of insecurity” and the invitation from the Head of State to restore forests so that they strengthen the resilience of communities, the NGO “Guardian Angels of Nature” (AGN), is part of this dynamic by organizing a reforestation campaign called “a child a fruit tree”.

The launch of this activity took place this Friday, September 8, 2023 in Léo, under the patronage of the High Commissioner of the Sissili province, Tewendé Isaac Sia as well as the Presidents of the special delegation of the project intervention area, and the presence of the High Commissioner of Ziro, Saïba Zoromé.

In the opinion of the president of the NGO “the guardian angels of nature”, Bienvenu Claude Valéry Bado, this initiative aims to grant over three years 30,000 fruit plants and/or non-timber forest products for responsible plantations.

“For this 2023 campaign, 6,000 fruit trees will be planted for the benefit of children in the municipalities where the project supports the sustainable and participatory management of protected areas,” he said.

For Mr. Bado, the desired goal is to strengthen the resilience and cohesion of communities bordering the protected areas of the Ponasi ecological complex (Po, Nazinga, Sissili), for better security and better protection of the environment and its resources. .

He then invited children wishing to own a fruit tree to register with the High Commissions, the municipalities in the project intervention areas and the provincial directorates in charge of the environment.

The president of the NGO indicated that its structure involves prizes for the best plants according to a certain number of criteria. These prizes will consist, among other things, of project funding for the families of the winning children.

The High Commissioner of the province of Sissili, Tewendé Isaac Sia, greeted and thanked the NGO and its first manager for the choice made on the province of Sissili to host the present ceremony.

“With regard to the impacts of our daily actions on the environment, namely; abusive and anarchic cutting of wood, bush fires, carbonization, anarchic constructions and other harmful practices, putting young plants underground to restore the plant cover has become nowadays an imperative duty for each and everyone”, says namely Mr. Sia.

He invited the technical services and parents to support the children in maintaining their plants in order to provide them with environmental education.

The High Commissioner, on behalf of all the authorities, reassured the NGO of their permanent support for the successful implementation of this activity to the great happiness of all.

As a reminder, the resilient communities project launched on March 2 has the overall objective of increasing the resilience and social cohesion of communities bordering protected areas in order to provide better stability conducive to the development and conservation of natural spaces.

Source: Burkina Information Agency