with Davison Muropa
At least I now hear some heartening and uplifting news from Zimbabwe.
An organisation called MyTrees/ Miti Yangu is active in the Zambezi escarpment protecting trees from being cut down in the first place and also encouraging reforestation of indigenous trees such as misau (ziziphus mucronata), mitohwe (azanza garckeana), mipondo (bauhinia petersiana) and misungu (Acasia) among others.
Operating in a 250 km long belt from Sebungwe, through Matuzviadonha, Charara, Chewore to Dande and Muzarabani.
They have up of 120 000 hectares under their management and have so far planted some 80,000 trees and counting.
Now the organisation has received a windfall, partnering with popular British rock band, Cold Play in a forestry project ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), that takes place next week in Glasgow, Scotland aimed at expanding their conservation blueprint.
Early next year Coldplay undertakes a world tour dubbed “ Music of the Spheres” to create awareness for the need to reduce and mitigate against carbon emissions.
The community - led reforestation project will protect vast new areas of wilderness, opening vital wildlife corridors whilst creating local rural jobs and income generating opportunities in the process.
We can take a leaf from the very successful locally led conservation in the Masai Mara of Kenya.
These are the kind of activities the Church should cherish and spearhead in this twenty - first century of climate enlightenment to protect and save this Garden of Eden we call Zimbabwe. Kwete kungodya michero tisinga chengetedze miti.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Franciscus and the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, have now added their voices to this growing ecumenical ecological call.
May other church leaders join in to loudly and clearly preach and propagate the gospel of the Garden of Eden.
Till next week, be blessed.
Davison Muropa is a Zimbabwean based in Birmingham, UK.
Thanks Davison for such a clarion call. I am with you there, and the efforts should also be directed towards conserving animal diversity, for instance by growing fish rather than just harvesting from the natural water bodies.
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