Tanzania embarks on grand plan to save environment

Tanzanian authorities said on Sunday they have embarked on a 52.5 million U.S. dollars five-year plan aimed at saving the environment from further deterioration.

January Makamba, the east African nation's Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office responsible for environment, said the plan has been put in place against the backdrop of statistics showing that 61 percent of Tanzania's land risked turning into desert.

"The government is now more than ever determined to ensure that it protects the environment from further deterioration," he told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5.

Makamba said the government has set a budget of over 52.5 million dollars for financing an environmental protection plan for the next five years.

Makamba said at the heart of the project was a plan to plant trees on about 100,000 acres of land annually for 17 consecutive years, which will kick off early next year.

He said the plan will make tree-planting a requirement for all companies that will be seeking business licenses in Tanzania.

"The government will be making it compulsory for any company seeking a business license to declare that it would plant trees in its premises," said Makamba. Endit