Nearly 300 hectares of community forests, located in the regions of Lamego and Chirassicua, in the district of Nhamatanda, will be reforested as part of the environmental protection project promoted by two organizations in the center of the country.

"This is an initiative of ADRA and Livanigo, in the fight against deforestation of community forests, which have been devastated for years by the action of man," said Osório Belchior, representative of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Livaningo in Nhamatanda, in the central province of Sofala.

Osório Belchior, who is an environmental technician in the project, said that the initiative will cover five communities in the district of Nhamatanda, which in three years will reforest more than 300 hectares of forest, with native trees and fruit trees.

"We are now working in two communities, Lamego and Chirassicua, where we created a nursery with 6,500 plants of special protected and replanted in 12 hectares of forests. The forecast is to cover all the communities, but for this year we will reforest 100 hectares," he explained to Lusa.

As is the case worldwide, the country still faces challenges to its conservation, with deforestation levels at the national level estimated at 219,000 hectares per year, where among other causes are shifting agriculture, urban expansion, illegal logging, mining, and the production of wood fuels.

"In addition to restoring forests, we are creating forests in Lamego, Halumua, Chirassicua, Bipito and Mutambarico, both are new communities to be covered by the project in an area of 100 hectares. We will, in these areas, create nurseries with a production capacity of 62 thousand plants", he stated.

So far, 6,500 plants of native Chanfuta, Pangapanga and Ubau species have been planted in different community forests in the regions of Lamego and Chirassicua.

"This is the first batch of native plants, our plan is 6,500, so in the Nhandulo community 200 plants were recently planted in the local community forest," he said.

Samuel Bernado, community leader of Biepie in Chirassicua, said that the reforestation will bring several benefits to his community, since due to man's actions, the areas were already almost deserted.

"It's a positive initiative, at least in my community more than 400 native plants of medicinal importance and different species have already been planted. As soon as the plants grow we are going to use them for many things, both for medicine and for shade and firewood," he declared.

Luís Macutele, secretary of the Nhandulo committee, Lamega administrative posts, said that forests no longer existed in his area, and that with the project at least they have already managed to replant 200 new plants, thus creating a forest area in the region.

"The poachers had taken everything out here, we had almost no forests left, but with help from the project we have already managed to have reforested areas. We will take wood, produce charcoal, as soon as the plants reach an acceptable age," he said.

Data from the Ministry of Land and Environment indicate that in Mozambique, forests occupy about 32 million hectares, corresponding to about 40 percent of the total area of the country, of which 17.2 million hectares have potential for timber production.

Illegal logging has cost the Mozambican state about 200 million dollars a year, a significant amount to boost the country's socio-economic development, particularly in rural areas.