Government’s €1.2m for tree planting in Africa

THE Government is to give €1.2million to a major project named in the Pope’s honour which aims to plant a million trees in one of Africa’s most parched regions.

The re-greening of a huge swathe of land south of the Sahara, known as the Sahel, is part of the UN initiative that the Society of African Missions (SMA) here is helping with.

Ireland was invited by the UN to take a leadership role in helping deliver the Great Green Wall to combat desertification in the Sahel.

The Laudato Tree Project, run by the SMA, hopes to create a lasting legacy from the Pope’s visit to Ireland later this month. It takes its name from a 2015 papal encyclical by Pope Francis, ‘Laudato Si’, on caring for the environment.

Don Mullan, of the SMA, confirmed Environment Minister Denis Naughten ‘has responded to the invitation’ to help and ‘will give details at the launch of a major Irish Government commitment of €1.2million to this epic African initiative’.

Mr Mullan said the SMA hopes private donations will help too. He said it is asking for a contribution of €60, or €5 per month, but ‘will be happy to accept less or more, based on what people can afford’.

The UN’s proposal would also involve schools, parishes and community groups in planting trees in Ireland, increasing biodiversity and contributing to atmospheric improvement.

Each donation will be used to plant a tree in a woodland in Ireland, and five trees on Africa’s Great Green Wall, running through northern Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The Green Wall, when completed, will span 13 countries, and measure 8,000km long and 15km wide.

Ireland’s tree coverage is currently the lowest in Europe at 11%. The average tree coverage per European Union member state is 37%.