Mozambique to plant 100 million trees on battered coast
The project, which will use satellite imagery to spot badly deforested areas in need of planting, aims to offset some 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
In this hand out photo distributed by the Mozambican National Institute of Disaster Risk Management (INGD) and dated January 28, 2022, the bridge between the Mozambican towns of Mocuba and Maganja da Costa in Nampula Province is seen damaged and the surrounded area flooded. (Photo by Antonio BELEZA / Mozambican National Institute of Disaster Risk Management (INGD) / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO /Mozambican National Institute of Disaster Risk Management (INGD) ” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Mozambique, whose coastline has been ravaged by rising sea levels and tropical storms, announced plans on Tuesday to plant over 100 million trees to restore its battered mangroves.
Large portions of mangroves along the country’s 2,500-kilometre-long (1,500-mile-long) coastline have been decimated by high seas and the harvesting of firewood for charcoal.
The Ministry of Sea and Inland Waters said it plans to plant up to a 100 million trees over the next three decades in the central provinces of Sofala and Zambezia spanning 185,000 hectares of mangrove forests.
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“This 185,000 is effectively the size of Paris, Manhattan and London all put together. It’s never been done at this scale,” said Vahid Fotuhi whose Gulf-based company Blue Forest, is partially funding the project and providing mapping technology.
The project, which will use satellite imagery to spot badly deforested areas in need of planting, aims to offset some 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, equivalent to taking 50,000 fossil-fuel-burning cars off the road.
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