BY DRAXON MALOYA

The Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia has ordered all it’s 250 Presbyteries to ensure that all its congregations have established woodlots as one way of environmental conservation?
General Secretary for the symod Reverend William Tembo made the order at the church’s first mission station at Bandawe on during the launch of this year’s Synod’s tree planting exercise.

Reverend Tembo said considering there are a total of more than two million Christians in it’s congregations the Synod has the capacity and responsibility in restoration of the depleted natural resources such as trees.
“As christians our main focus is the survival and management of the trees so with all the congregations in churches forming our presbyteries we expect to plant a lot of trees this rainny season and also we will ensure that all the trees that did not survive last year should be replanted,” Reverend Tembo said.

The Synod of Livingstonia Development Program (Soldev) Board chairperson, Stella Mwangonde said her department is expected to plant more trees in the next five years having achieved 90% survival rate of the trees planted since 2016.
“We are planting more trees in the next five years, so we are motivating Christians to take care of their trees by among others organizing competitions from which they have been winning various prizes,” Mwangonde said.

Nkhata-Bay District Forestry officer, MacDoster Msomba said the district is expected to plant 650 000 trees this year alone having achieved the survival rate of 68% despite communities embarking on late tree planting exercise due to farming activities.

The 2020/21 tree planting exercise which is projected to have a total of 60 million trees planted was officially launched by the state president, Lazarus Chakwera on 16th December under the theme “Trees and Forest for Improved Health and Well-being”