DILI, 07 june 2021 (TATOLI) – The government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretary of State for the Environment (SSE), on saturday, planted 1,000 trees in Fatunaba Sub-Village of Dare Village, in Vera Cruz Administrative Post of Dili Municipality, to celebrate the World Environment Day in Timor-Leste.
Secretary of State for the Environment (SSE), Demétrio do Amaral de Carvalho said that the aim of planting the 1,000 trees was to celebrate World Environment Day in Timor-Leste entitled: Ecosystem Restoration.
“Today we celebrate World Environment Day with the today’s theme is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ which means investing in Ecosystem Restoration will give life to our future generation. So, today we celebrate this special day with planting 1,000 trees in Dare Village,” Carvalho told reporters after planting the trees in Dare, on saturday.
Carvalho said that Dare was chosen as the spot for planting the 1,000 trees because it would help capital Dili to be more resilient to natural disasters.
“To realize this tree planting activity, the communities in Dare, together with Nature Lovers Group, and Environmental Working Group planted these trees that would benefit the local communities in the short term and also restore our ecosystem in the future,” Carvalho said.
He said orange trees, rambutan, and jackfruits, including Pineapples were planted in one-hectare land.
“Planting these trees would reduce the sedimentation. So, when there is heavy rain here up in the mountain, the run-off water wouldn’t carry all the sediments down to capital Dili. So, through this small activity would restore that fertile soil in Dili city, and the ecosystem, which will give life to our farmers here in the village,” Carvalho said.
The Tree Planting activity was realized due to the cooperation between the Secretary of State for the Environment (SSE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAP) with the financial support of US$10,000, given by ETO Timor-Leste.
In addition, the President of the Committee D of the National Parliament, Antonino Bianco called on the Dare communities to look after those planted trees to give lives to Timor-Leste.
“I call on the communities here in this village to protect those trees that we have planted today so that we can get the benefits from these trees in the future. It is said that in 2030, these trees would make Dare green and give water to Dili,” Bianco said.
At the same place, the Head of the Fatunaba Sub-Village Amelia da Silva Barreto said that he was delighted with the tree planting activity as Dare was selected as the spot for planting the trees, saying it would make Dare green in the future.
“I really appreciate the cooperation between MAP and SSE for planting the trees here in the village. It will not only benefit Dili, but also this village,” said Barreto.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
