Every Day Is Special: March 21 – National Tree Planting Day in Lesotho

Posted on March 21, 2017

Lesotho, in southern Africa, is covered with savanna (grasslands) and low-growing alpine vegetation high in the mountains. There just aren't a lot of trees.

Ever since Europeans arrived in this region in the early 1800s, there has been a desire to plant and grow trees for fruit, for wood for building and fuel, and for shade.

Changing natural environments to suit humans is a tricky proposition, of course. There are often unintended bad results of meddling, and sometimes fighting nature means throwing a lot of money and effort at something that doesn't end up working out.

Still, keeping these complexities in mind, it's interesting to note that Lesotho has a goal of gaining 5% tree cover in the nation by 2020 - and to achieve that, the Basotho have to plant 1,500,000 trees per year!

Wow!

Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, now has a fair number of trees.

People living in rural areas have planted a few trees near their homes, as well.

Remember, Lesotho is a small nation entirely surrounded by South Africa.