Fiji’s bid to plant 30 million trees in 15 years has reached an impressive milestone as more than 18 million trees have been planted since its inception in 2019.
According to a press statement by the Ministry of Forestry, the figures show a positive sign of commitment from all stakeholders as within three years since its launch, Fijians have achieved 60 per cent of the target.
The ministry stated the planting activity had been boosted following the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics, Professor Biman Prasad that a sum of $2.5 million had been allocated for the Reforestation of Degraded Forests (RDF) with indigenous and other species.
“The funding allocated will be used to address challenges and ensure the survival of trees planted by undertaking extensive monitoring, enhancing quality seed collection, propagation, and planting protocols,” it stated.
Fiji Pine Ltd (FPL) and Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd (FHCL) are two companies that contributed the largest planting target in the program with FPL planting 13,634,281 trees, while FHCL has planted 260,393 trees.
It also appreciated the efforts of visitors, communal landowners, and individual landowners who had planted the balance with technical guidance and assistance from the ministry.
The ministry highlighted that of the 18,146,046 planted, 17,396,046 are exotic, native, fruit and coastal species trees while 750,000 are mangroves. Acting executive director of Operation Services George Vuki thanked companies, organisations, communities, and individuals for supporting the planting program.
“One of the most powerful strategies for addressing the climate crisis and restoring biodiversity is tree planting. Inadequately planned reforestation and afforestation projects, however, have the potential to increase emissions and harm ecosystems even though trees are naturally efficient carbon capture and storage machines,” Mr Vuki said.
“We urge organisations and the general public to continue supporting the ministry’s tree planting efforts.”
