Standard Lesotho Bank and Ministry of Forestry roll out nationwide tree planting to commemorate the International Day of Forests
As part of its continued support for the country toward the reforestation of the country, Standard Lesotho Bank in partnership with the Ministry of Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation held the launch of the National Tree Planting Day at an event held at Ha Ntsane in the area of Thaba Bosiu on Monday 21st March, 2022. The launch coincided with the global celebration of the International Day of Forests, which was declared by the resolution of the United Nations in 2012. With the support of the Bank, Limomonane Foundation and other corporate sponsors including Vodacom, and Metropolitan, the target was to plant 100,000 trees on this day, where 10,000 trees were planted in every district.
The global theme for this year’s commemoration is Forests and sustainable production and consumption, which advocates for global citizens to manage forests in a sustainable manner. The involvement of Standard Lesotho Bank in this initiative is part of the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Bank and the Ministry last year, where the Bank has committed to support initiatives to participate in the reforestation of Lesotho and to promote food security through the planting of forest trees as well as fruit trees. The Bank has committed an annual budget of M200,000 towards this initiative for a period of three years.
About 43 villages have been identified for the planting of trees this year in all the districts of the country, where the Bank staff, together with government officials and the public planted trees.
On behalf of the Bank, the Acting Head of Marketing, Mr. Manyathela Kheleli indicated that tree planting forms part of the Bank’s Social, Economic and Environmental (SEE) strategic imperative, where the Bank promotes initiatives geared towards the management and control of greenhouse gases and the sustainability of the green environment. As a responsible corporate citizen, Standard Lesotho Bank is equally concerned with massive deforestation and the impact that this has on the environment. These efforts help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and a transition towards low-carbon and green economies. “Even in our lending to entities that can harm the environment such as mines, part of our process to approve such loans is to check that environmental impact assessments are done to ensure that the money that we lend will not harm the environment.” He added.
The launch of the tree planting was attended by senior government officials, the Principal Chief of Thaba Bosiu, Chief Khoabane Theko and the military, led by Lieutenant General, Mojalefa Letsoela, school children and members of the community. The next phase in the implementation of the MoU this year will be the planting of fruit trees later in the year. With this initiative, the Bank is also advocating for the Government to reconsider the reinstatement of the National Tree Planting Day, which was previously declared a national holiday to encourage communities to dedicate one day to plant a tree.
