The world around us is starting to show the heavy burden we are putting on it. Every day we take for granted the things provided for our use by nature. We continue to slash and burn for crop expansion, our need for fuel for cooking and heat is never ending, burning of bush and grasses has no real sense and human development continually puts pressure on the environment. Everyone is now seeing the effects of changing climates. It is getting warmer every day and even the cooler times of the year are getting colder. The rains which traditionally started around the day you celebrated your Independence now come in late December. And when it rains it is not a gentle soaking rain but in torrents that destroy homes, crops and cause havoc on nature. Our biggest ally in this fight against the ill effects of climate change is trees which we have taken for granted and that will always be there for us.
Here are some important reasons we must take better care of our trees and look after the natural environment:
* Trees are the biggest suppliers of oxygen which we and our animals need to live. Trees collect carbon from the air to grow and in doing so, they release the oxygen we breathe.
* Trees provide food for humans, for animals, for birds, and for insects from their flowers, fruits, nuts, bark, roots, and leaves.
* Trees provide building material for our houses so we can have security for our families and shelter from the elements.
* Animals, birds, insects, and also call the tree their home and take shelter from the elements and from predators.
*Trees provide a living to many communities in and around the forest: sawing timber for export, doors, furniture, building poles for fences, making handles for axes and hoes, and even the last place where we find rest is a coffin made of wood.
* Trees provide many different medicines that are cures for so many ailments we suffer. Trees have important cultural connections to most indigenous peoples on the earth.
* Trees provide an anchor to the earth for the soil we cultivate; they create windbreaks so the soil is not blown away by wind or washed away by water.
* Trees filter the air we breathe, taking away dust that causes lung diseases and eye irritations; trees filter the water we drink, making it clear and removing much bacteria that spread diseases like diarrhea.
*Trees cool the earth by slowing the evaporation of moisture and keeping the water levels in our wells from going beyond our reach.
Trees play a major role in everything we do in our daily lives. As an exercise after reading this information just make a list in your mind of all the things you and your family use trees for throughout your daily lives. And then ask yourself have I done my part to replace what I have used? Learn how to plant and look after your forest. Trees are our best friends here on earth: have you given a tree a hug today? Join us in the fight against climate change and deforestation.
Garry Brooks
SUSTAINABLE FUELWOOD IN ZAMBIA 