Natural resources and environment engineer Marcelino Francisco expressed skepticism regarding the execution of the Luanda City Afforestation Program (PAL), because the document that governs the program is very empty in terms of requirements necessary for good afforestation.
The environmentalist says that the PAL has many deficiencies and that it lacks important details, such as, for example, the types of trees to be planted, the profile and in which locations. He argues that, when planting a tree, there are many details and requirements to be met. “A tree that I plant on the right road of Samba is not the same type of tree that I might plant in the middle of a neighborhood”, explained the specialist.
He considers it important to know why a particular tree is planted, and not just focus on aesthetics or providing shade. There are trees for commercial purposes, so that we can then sell wood, this in the long term, explained the specialist. There are also trees that are planted to make charcoal. “We need to know for what purpose we are planting trees, and this purpose was left unacknowledged in the PAL. What type of trees do you intend to give primacy to? We do not know.
Generally for tree planting or afforestation, the first aspect to be respected is the local vegetation. There are several points with native vegetation problems, and, in Luanda, it is almost unknown, in quotation marks, what the native vegetation is,” he said. Marcelino also added that, when the native vegetation is not known, adapted vegetation can be applied. Those trees that are found in the location but that are not native to that area. He also said that there are the types of trees that are placed for aesthetic reasons, where they choose a location that has good visibility. The specialist believes that these details were not observed in the afforestation program that we have been mentioning.
“When we are carrying out an afforestation program and the basic guidelines are not followed, it is doomed to failure. Marcelino Francisco considers the Luanda City Afforestation Program (PAL) to be very noble, as Luanda is seen as one of the grayest and least wooded cities in Southern Africa, according to some studies. A project like PAL is always welcome, in his opinion. To avoid the risk of trees being installed and then being uprooted due to other projects, being uprooted because the roots damage the asphalt, Marcelino advises that the basic requirements in this process be followed very carefully.
“One person, one tree” project On the other hand, the person responsible for the tree planting project, called “One person, one tree”, which is already on its way to its seventh anniversary, said that this project is currently seeking to plant trees according to each step and requirement requested. “We had a frequency of planting at least twenty to thirty trees per month. The number was reducing because we did not always find places with the conditions required for planting”, he added.
The project also offers trees and monitors the location to be planted, treatment and irrigation. If these requirements are not met, they prefer not to risk it because they have a lot of love for trees and do not intend to plant it without being sure that it will grow for life. “Today we are planting fewer trees, we are sure that these few trees will thrive”, he concluded.
