FDH Bank Plc rolls out ‘Be Green Smart’ tree planting season
FDH Bank Plc launched its ‘Be Green Smart’ tree planting season by donating 20,000 tree seedlings to Blantyre Synod’s Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) and the Wildlife & Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) — which is one of the bank’s community engagement under the banner ‘Our Environment’ sustainability pillar.
FDH Bank commits itself to plant 1 million trees by 2024 to be done through its staff members, partners, customers and various stakeholders in support of the World Economic Forum global restorative initiative to grow, restore and conserve 1 trillion trees around the world.
The tree seedlings donation comes a day after FDH Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malawi Forestry Department in environmental and natural resource conservation by adopting Chingale Hills Forest in Zomba, through a sponsorship of K10 million per annum for its sustainability drive.
At the symbolic handover ceremony of the tree seedlings of K10,000 each to both recipients held on Tuesday at its head office in Blantyre, FDH Holdings’ Senior Marketing Manager, Ronald Chimchere said the initiative is in line with the bank’s sustainability drive, dubbed FDH Cares.
He said the world will be a better place to live in if everyone contributed towards its environmental sustainability than just watch as it is currently being degraded.
He added that Blantyre CCAP Synod and WESM are institutions that reach out to masses of people and are well placed to help in FDH’s objective to create a positive awareness of replacing trees that the public wantonly cut as well as impress on them to manage environmental sustainability.
FDH Bank also sponsors Green Café program on Zodiak Broadcasting Station as well as annual Green Awards for best media reporting on environmental conservation facilitated by Association of Environmental Journalists.
Both Blantyre Synod’s Rev. Buxton Maulidi and WESM’s Oswald Bonongwe applauded FDH Bank’s gesture, saying it has come at the right time when they were also rolling out their respective tree planting season.
Rev. Maulidi, whose Synod has 18 Presbyteries, said preaching is not just about sharing the word of God but it includes impressing on their followers to appreciate the nature that God created and made Man to control its management and sustainability.
While Bonongwe echoed what Director of Forestry, Dr. Clement Chilima said at the MoU signing ceremony in Zomba by imploring on the public to join hands with FDH Bank to restore and manage the environment from which they benefit in their everyday livelihood.
Chilima also said FDH’s partnership comes in the wake of the reforms being undertaken by the Ministry of Forest & Natural Resources to engage with stakeholders in its drive to 4.5 million hectares by 2030.
In its survey that was conducted some three years ago, it was determined that over 9 million hectares of land has been degraded and it is in the Ministry of Forest & Natural Resources’ plans to restore half of it by 2030.
The Ministry is also engaging with traditional leaders to impress on their community subjects to positively manage the environment, saying tree planting season would now be known as the ‘forestry season’ in recognition that conservation is not just about replacing trees but also through its proper management.
He had said: “Our forests and the rest of our environment sorroundings can restore by themselves by simply managing them without even planting trees — thus our call to the private sector and the communities to adopt and manage our forests.
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