Mtama. A total of 1.2 million trees have been planted across various areas in the Lindi Region as part of efforts to promote forest conservation ahead of World Forest Day celebrations, alongside the national tree-planting campaign.
Speaking after a tree-planting exercise held at Kiwalala Secondary School in Mtama District on March 17, 2026, the Lindi Regional Commissioner, Zainab Telack, urged residents to continue protecting forests in order to address the challenges of climate change.
She noted that Lindi is among the regions that still have significant forest cover, making it essential to safeguard these resources to avoid the impacts of drought and declining rainfall.
“We still have forests. If we continue cutting down trees indiscriminately, we will face serious hardships as our region could turn into a desert and we will lose rainfall,” said Telack.
On his part, the Acting Director of the Forestry and Beekeeping Division from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Daniel Charles, said the ministry, through the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS), has prioritized educating and mobilizing communities on tree planting.
He added that the national tree-planting campaign began in January 2026, and so far more than 110 million trees have been planted across the country. In Lindi Region alone, 1.2 million trees have already been planted.
“So far, over 110 million trees have been planted nationwide, with Lindi Region alone accounting for 1.2 million trees,” he said.
A Form Two student from Kiwalala Secondary School, Jafari Mahamudu, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism for encouraging tree planting and pledged that students would take good care of the trees.
“We thank the Ministry for coming to our school to plant fruit and shade trees. On behalf of my fellow students, I promise we will take good care of them so they can benefit both the current and future generations,” said Mahamudu.