Plant a tree and help save the world

building and green belts, to mention but a few.
Perhaps we should also include green people to the list of greens.
The shouting ambition is to achieve green growth, a growing of economies through sustainable development, which targets to offset the adverse impacts of climate change without having to fuel the same.

In this age where global warming and climate change are quickly replacing senseless wars as the biggest threat to livelihoods, urgent and correct action must be taken to save mankind from himself.
A suite of integrated measures to achieve structured economic growth are being employed by governments the world over.
The development of green belts within urban centres is one such strategy.

Green belts are those areas or spaces left undeveloped in cities, to let nature thrive.
They may also be man-made through rapid and sustained planting of green vegetation, especially trees.
Green belts are not an entirely new concept in urban planning. Planners have always allowed for ‘green spaces’ in their designs since long ago.

However, changing climatic conditions today mean these spaces are needed now more than ever before.
Trees and other plants are beautiful and they add beauty to a city.
They function as organic sponges for the world’s unsustainable production of global warming causing carbons, providing oxygen to people.

Green belts are one phenomenon that cannot be overlooked in the fight against climate change and global warming.
Most of the pollution in the world today takes place within cities.
Incorporating green belts is therefore crucial in purifying the air we breathe.

Harare urban planning expert, Mr Percy Toriro says the green belt concept is very useful in managing the environment.
“Firstly, it helps in managing the ecology of the city by retaining a broad variety of the city’s biodiversity,” he said in an interview last week.
“Secondly, green belts, if supported by relevant regulations and even laws, can help curb urban sprawl.”

Urban sprawl refers to the unmanaged and unsustainable outward expansion of cities.
“This is negative as it leads to the destruction of vegetation and animal life . . . As we develop our cities in Zimbabwe, we owe it to future generations to retain all current animal
and plant species for benefit of future generations.”

Environment Minister Francis Nhema says the development of green belts in urban areas is being spearheaded by local authorities.
The ministry, he said played an advisory role with its main focus fixed on preserving wetlands such as those found around Lake Chivero in Harare and Odzi River in Manicaland.
Minister Nhema emphasised the need for afforestation as a key tool for tackling global warming.

“You really need to look at this (green belts) from a global perspective. Planting of trees is now very important in controlling wild pollution,” he said.
Repeated efforts to get comment from Harare Council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi were fruitless.
The concept of green belts has been adopted the world over in areas such as the UK, New Zealand, USA and Asia.

It is argued that the green belts in Asia helped prevent further loss of life when the region was hit by the Tsunami in 2005.
In southern Africa, Mozambique has worked appreciable wonders with its urban green belts.
The capital Maputo is surrounded by an extensive green belt in which development is prohibited.

In that zone, people can only undertake greening of day activities such as agro-forestry, theme parks and other activities that enhance the function of a green belt as a carbon sink.
Cape Town in South Africa also has clear biodiversity strategies that maintain green belts.
In Zimbabwe, green belt management has not been that much successful despite the existence of many such areas in original city designs.

These cities designed with extensive green belts are also known as garden cities.
Mr Toriro said Harare’s Mabelreign suburb was designed using a typically garden city concept.
“However, Mabelreign is no longer as well defined,” he explained.

Similar fate has befallen numerous other projects countrywide.
Mr Toriro said where greenbelts existed in Zimbabwe, some have been developed for different uses while several portions have since been developed into housing estates.
Positive examples that identify and designate certain areas as master green belts exist in Harare, however.

Areas such as Cleveland Dam, Mukuvisi Woodlands and others along the Manyame River “are all recognised as green belts and have been protected to a certain extent”.
This is not sufficient and Zimbabwe needs to do more to avoid straying into the panic mode that has gripped other developed cities, which are creating tiny gardens on sky-scrapper roof tops.
Mr Toriro said: “Zimbabwe has no option but to jealously look after its green belts”.

We must improve our stewardship of all existing green belts, continue to designate all sensitive ecological areas and re-establish all green belts and forests that we may have neglected.
“Like all nations, we face the challenge of land as a finite resource facing many competition for development, but we must plan carefully and manage our resources . . . we need to develop in a sustainable manner.”

Dr S.C Sharma of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in India said recently that all cities should earmark certain areas for the development of green belts to bring life and colour to “the concrete jungle and a healthy environment to the urbanites”.

The message is loud and clear: plant a tree and help save the world. If the 13 million Zimbabweans planted a tree each (parents can plant for their infants), that would make a huge difference in the fight against climate change and global warming.

If people took care of the land, the land would take of the people.
It is heartening, however, that many urban dwellers are happy to plant trees in new residential areas although this may not be enough to match pre-development numbers.
God is faithful.

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