Trees can be seen as the lungs of the world and by increasing their number the entire Earth will benefit from it. One of the environmental Benefit of trees is their potential to mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon as they grow.

On 15th January, Zambia joined the rest of the world in commemorating world tree planting day. The UNICEF children climate ambassadors participated in the event and planted over 100 trees. The Ambassadors, in interpreting the theme ?Tree planting for poverty alleviation and economic development? for the 2012/2013 National Tree Planting season, cheerfully noted that forests can alleviate poverty if used sustainably.  Many communities depend on forests for subsistence and income. In fact, forests are considered a critical link in the transition to a green economy – one that promotes sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Trees are our best friends. They play a very important role in our life. We cannot live without them. They give us timber, paper and firewood.

The tree planting campaign, spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, was unveiled as one response to the threat of global warming, as well as to the wider sustainability challenges from water supply to biodiversity loss.