President Salva Kiir and Environment Minister Josephine Napwon during the marking of the World Environment Day at Freedom Hall in Juba on June 17, 2021 | Credit | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

Planting trees starting at a household level will save the environment from the degradation being caused by the widespread deforestation in the country, according to Environment Minister Josephine Napwon.

Speaking during the launch of tree planting at Jubek Secondary School in Juba’s Gudele suburbs on Friday, Minister Josephine Napwon urged households to play their part and plant trees.

“It’s not only the responsibility of the government. It has to be our responsibility to make sure that we plant tress at our homes and in our streets in all the states.”

South Sudan is well endowed with diverse natural forests and woodlands, with an estimated total area of 191,667 km2, accounting for about 30% of total land area.

However, in 2015, the United Nations said the country faced a very high rate of deforestation.

It earlier warned there would be no forests left in the next 50 years if no action was taken.

Arshad Khan, who was ‘then’ UN Officer in Charge of Environment Program in South Sudan, said most of the tree-cutting activities are done to produce charcoal.

During the same weekend tree planting event, the Executive Director in the Ministry of Environment, Otti Julius revealed that, about 2000 out of 17000 hectors of forest in the country have been lost to deforestation.

” And by planting [trees], you have saved the environment of South Sudan”, Minister Napwon stressed.

Last year, South Sudan’s Environment and Forestry Ministry, on a World Environment Day, launched a 100-million tree planting project.

With each of the ten stated expected to plant 10 million trees.

In recent months, some states like Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Northern Bahr-el -Ghazal started implementing the project.