Rwanda will plant 30 million trees to help restore its forests, provide fuelwood and to curb erosion and greenhouse gas emissions.

The New Times reports on Rwanda’s National Tree Planting Day to be held on 29 November with the theme: Enhancing climate resilience through agroforestry.

Agroforestry is seen as an important mechanism to restore tree cover in the country and bring “additional high value agricultural products to the small-holder farmers,” says the article.

Forests now cover 28.8 per cent of Rwanda’s surface area. But this area used to be much more extensive. Deforestation across the country has been worsened by the cutting of trees for firewood or charcoal. The situation was particularly exacerbated during the 1990-1994 liberation war and Genocide and the aftermath; leaving forests severely degraded.

Erosion is a key issue for Rwanda. It is estimated that 40 per cent of cultivated land in the country is at risk of severe erosion while 90 per cent of crop land is on slopes of 5 to 55 per cent.

The government plans to reforest an additional 500 hectares of land in the country by 2017. Combined with this will be the use of modern kilns that require less wood as well as measures to supply renewable energy.

Read the full story: 30 million trees to be planted