Launch of the 2024 National Aerial Seeding Campaign
The aerial seeding operations organized as part of the 2024 national aerial seeding campaign started today, Thursday, at the headquarters of the Air Force General Staff Command at Nouakchott Oumtounsi International Airport.
This five-day campaign, organized in collaboration between the Ministries of Environment and Sustainable Development, Defense, and retirees and sons of martyrs, represented by the Air Force General Staff Command, aims to restore vegetation cover, stabilize sand dunes and sustainably protect our lands.
The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Massouda Mint Baham, supervising the official launch of this campaign with the Minister of National Defense, Pensioners and Sons of Martyrs, Mr. Hanana Ould Sidi, stressed that the preservation of the environment is a strong commitment of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, which placed it at the heart of its electoral programme “My Ambition for the Fatherland”.
She added that the success of this campaign depends on good preparation and careful implementation after the ministries involved have worked closely together to identify areas of intervention, mobilize seeds and equipment, prepare teams, as well as hold monitoring and evaluation sessions to measure the impact of this work and adjust the strategy taken in this regard if necessary.
The minister explained that since 2015, deserts and barren soils occupy 80% of the country’s surface area and forests and other wood resources, which represented 4.3 million hectares in 1981, have decreased by 42% to reach 2.5 million hectares in 2020, noting that if nothing is done now, this situation risks becoming irreversible by 2060.
She added that since 1992, our country has taken important steps by launching national aerial seeding campaigns that have restored arid areas and stabilized dunes, thus ensuring the protection of our lands and communities, noting that the results of previous campaigns show that thousands of trees and shrubs have come back to life.
To achieve these objectives, adds the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, and since 2022, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development has been committed to continuing these efforts by working closely with the Ministry of Defense, Retirees and Sons of Martyrs through the Air Force General Staff Command and, This year, for the first time, the two sectors have formalized this cooperation through a contract, in order to conduct the most efficient and regular aerial seeding operations.