NATIONAL TREE PLANTING DAY

A National Tree Planting Day is being organized for the first time in Dili on 12 January. The initiative comes from a local group of professional foresters, East Timor Foresters Group, ETFOG, and is intended to raise awareness about the problems of deforestation, such as soil erosion, flooding and deteriorating soil fertility.

The group has been growing thousands of tree seedlings which will be planted in selected parts of the capital in the coming weeks. The tree-planting ceremony, which will be attended by Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello and CNRT President Xanana Gusmão, will take place on two of the most eroded hillsides in Dili. The initiative, expected to become an annual community event, is supported by the Dili District Administration, the Forestry Unit of the East Timor Transitional Administration and Caritas Australia.