"Vanuatu does not have the technology to produce renewable energy products like solar panels but we will plant trees to fight Climate Change”.
This statement was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries & Biosecurity, Matai Seremaiah Nawalu as he was officially launching the International Day of Forests on Wednesday 23 March 2016 at the Agriculture Station in Tagabe, Port-Vila.
“The whole world I engaged today in the fight against Climate Change. Lots of efforts have been made on producing renewable energy by developed countries. But each time they produce a solar panel, a bit of greenhouse gas is emitted into the atmosphere”, Minister Seremaiah said.
“Renewable energy sources enable us to maintain the level of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere but they don’t absorb the carbon dioxide out of the air we are breathing. Whereas when we plant trees, those trees are feeding and growing through absorbing and consuming the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere”, the Ministry of Forestry emphasized.
Vanuatu Info Online reports in their respective speeches, Minister Seremaiah and the Director of Forestry, Hanington Tate said that Vanuatu is going to plant trees as its weapon to fight climate change.
“Vanuatu does not have the technology to build solar panels and other renewable energy sources but something we can do together is to plant more trees”, Minister Seremaiah stressed.
The Minister and the Director of Forestry both emphasized that forests and water are indispensable to human life and that it is important to protect these resources.
“Every time we turn on the water tap, we are tapping into the forest. The water we are drinking is not produced by a water tank. It comes from the forest. Water is a forest product. If we destroy our forest, our water sources will disappear. So we need to protect our bushes, our forests in order to protect our water sources”, Director Hanington Tate stressed in his speech.
After declaring the official opening of the International Day of Forests, Minister Seremaiah officially launched 3 events:
1- The Launching of the Vanuatu National Forest Week from the 21 to 27 August 2016.It will become a national annual event as of this year 2016.
2- The Launching of the Vanuatu Tree Planting Day that will take place on the 21st of June 2016. It will also become an annual event as of this year
3- The Launching of the Decade of Reforestation from 2016 to 2025.
Mr Jeremiah reiterated the importance of protecting Vanuatu’s natural resources to its people and commending the work of the Director General, the Directors and staff of the Department of Forestry, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Biosecurity (MALFFB).
After the speeches, the distinguished guests took part in a tree planting session around the Agriculture Show Ground at Tagabe to mark the event
The United Nations theme for this year’s International Day of Forest is “Forests and Water”. And it is normally on the 21st of March, but due to the Parliamentary Budget Session last week, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries & Biosecurity had to delay the commemoration to March 23rd to enable the participation of the minister responsible for Forestry.
Over 500 people were present during the one day event which took place at the Tagabe Agriculture Station. Apart from representatives of government agencies, NGOs and funding agencies, students from various schools including members of the general public were also present.