By Assan Bah
Residents of the Jabang-Estate on Sunday, 27 August planted over two hundred (200) trees at their estate to mitigate climate change-related disasters.
The activity, which was initiated by the Jabang Housing Estate Development Association, brought together community leaders, women, youth, officials from the Forestry Department, and other stakeholders.
Mr Fallou Sowe, the chairperson of the association, said they brought this initiative to protect the community from erosion and windstorms.
He added: “We have realised that two major issues are affecting us in our residence, that is erosion (through flooding) and wind storms because the place is open. To ensure that our environment is well protected, we decided to engage in tree planting in the estate.”
Mr Sowe also explained that their plan is to plant over a thousand trees in the estate as he called on the community to take ownership of the plants.
Mr Demba Sonko, a community member, said planting trees could mitigate flooding in the estate because it is all about climate change-related issues. “We need trees in our environment as they can serve as windbreakers. Everyone should take responsibility for protecting the trees as it is for the environment.”
Mr Omar Sidibeh, an official from the Department of Forestry, commended the community for the initiative, as he said one could not exhaust talking about the importance of trees on the climate. He said, “Trees are just like human beings (plants and animals) wherever you have a tree, you need a human being there. Trees have significant contribution to the climate, with air and water.”
Further highlighting the importance of trees, Sidibeh added that “trees cool down the air pressure in an environment likewise water if you have good tree cover within your environment, the water pressure will cool down and as a result, trees can mitigate climate hazards in the environment”.
