Soyo – some 2,700 mangrove seedlings were planted, Sunday, near the mouth of the Mbridge river, in the municipality of Nzeto, province of Zaire, as part of the repopulation program of these ecosystems.
The program was implemented by the Provincial Government of Zaire, in partnership with the environmental organization OTCHIVA and partners.
The mangrove trees were planted in an area that has been devastated by human action, resulting in the disappearance of the vegetation that existed at the site, according to the coordinator of the project called “Mundo Azul”, linked to OTCHIVA, Mateus Filho.
Mateus Filho recalled that Zaire is the province that has the largest mangrove conservation area in the country, so considers it an added responsibility to keep these ecosystems intact, aiming for environmental balance.
“Mangroves are nurseries for various aquatic and marine species, which is why there is an urgent need for their permanent conservation”, recalled, for whom this vegetation is also responsible for purifying the air by wiping out carbon dioxide, considered toxic gaseous substance.
He said that the next step will be the planting of more than 40,000 mangrove trees in the coastal zone of the river channels of the municipality of Soyo, in allusion to World Mangrove Day, to be celebrated on the 26th of the current month, whose national central event will take place in this city.
In turn, the provincial governor, Adriano Mendes de Carvalho, in statements to the press, said it was a duty to repopulate the mangrove ecosystem that was destroyed by human action, for the sustainability of the environment.
He praised the presence of children in this mangrove planting campaign, using the old adage that “the cucumber is twisted when it is small”, aiming to instill in children the mentality of environmental preservation.
“We have the largest mangrove conservation zone in the country, which covers an area of about 37,000 hectares, which extends along the coastal area and some river channels, the governor said. He got the occasion to call on for more actions of this kind to continue to preserve vegetation.
Mangroves are tropical natural ecosystems, composed of plant species resistant to salt water and generally located in coastal areas.
This kind of vegetation is considered to be blue carbon ecosystems, as well as seagrasses and salt marshes, because they are 10 times more efficient in absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon in the long term, compared to terrestrial ecosystems, making them essential in combating climate change.
Students, members of the Provincial Government, the Nzeto Municipal Administration, the environmental organization OTCHIVA, traditional authorities, defense and internal order forces, participated in the mangrove planting campaign. PMV/JL/DOJ
