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First Lady of Zimbabwe Dr Auxilia Mnangagwa has called on Zimbabweans to join in the green economies drive by adopting one involving natural Resources. This according to the First Citizen, will also help in the fight against Climate Change.
President Mnangagwa’s wife, Dr Mnangagwa is the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry patron for the environment and spoke during a Tree Planting Day programme at Tugwane High School in Nyajena communal lands, Masvingo South, in a speech read on her behalf by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Raphael Faranisi.
The First Lady said planting trees both indigenous and exotic and rebuilding forests were key in fighting the negative effects of climate change.
‘‘High population of trees and presence of big forests help mitigate the effects of floods that are now a common feature these days, while trees and forests are also critical for human survival, even in times of drought through provision of fruits that are highly nutritious,” said Dr Mnangagwa.
“The issue of protecting the environment, especially trees and forests, forms part of President Mnangagwa’s vision to transform the Zimbabwean economy into upper-middle income status by the year 2030 and this vision is supported by NDS1, which started in 2021 and will run up to 2025,” she added.
President Mnangagwa envisioned Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy (NDS1) which entail progressively transforming people’s lives and the economy, while leaving no one and no place behind.
The First Lady said, Trees and forests, are some of Zimbabwe’s natural resources that will be instrumental in engendering socio-economic transformation.
“The world over, there is an ongoing drive to promote growth of green economies and today I want to urge you, the people of Masvingo and Zimbabwe at large, not to be left behind in the unfolding green economy revolution taking place in other progressive jurisdictions around the world,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa added that, trees and forests, are important as sources of medicine and nutrition, while they also help minimise land degradation by protecting soil from erosion.
The First Citizen said the theme marking the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change, “Trees and forests for ecosystem restoration and improved livelihoods”, called for an urgent need to rehabilitate gullies and embark on reforestation.
Protecting the environment was also key to preserving infrastructure such as dams, which could be affected by siltation.
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