STANDARD Lesotho Bank has committed M200 000 to planting 100 000 trees this year with a total of 10 000 to be planted in each district.
business
March 22, 2022
NEO SENOKO
2 min read
Std Lesotho Bank plants M200 000 worth of trees
Acting Head of Marketing, Manyathela Kheleli
Story highlights
43 villages identified for planting of trees in all 10 districts
Tree planting forms part of the bank’s SEE strategic imperative
The initiative is done in partnership with the Ministry of Forestry, Limomonane Foundation and other corporate sponsors including Vodacom Lesotho and Metropolitan Lesotho.
On Monday, the bank said the nationwide tree planting rollout also marked the International Day of Forests, which coincided with the global commemoration held in Ha Ntsane, Thaba-Bosiu.
The global celebrations follow the resolution of the United Nations (UN) in 2012 to observe the International Day of Forests.
About 43 villages have been identified for the planting of trees this year in all the 10 districts of Lesotho.
Acting Head of Marketing Manyathela Kheleli said tree planting formed part of the bank’s Social, Economic and Environmental (SEE) strategic imperative.
Under the strategy, he said the bank promoted initiatives geared towards the management and control of greenhouse gases and the sustainability of the green environment.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, Standard Lesotho Bank is equally concerned with massive deforestation and the impact this has on the environment,” said Mr Kheleli.
“These efforts help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and a transition towards low-carbon and green economies. Even in our lending to entities, we are careful about projects that can harm the environment such as mines. It’s part of our process to approve such loans after we have checked the environmental impact assessment was done to ensure that there’s no harm to the environment.”
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The global theme for this year’s commemoration is Forests and Sustainable Production and Consumption, which advocates for global citizens to manage forests in a sustainable manner.
Mr Kheleli said the bank’s involvement in this initiative was part of the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the bank and the forestry ministry last year.
Under the MoU, the bank has committed to support initiatives to participate in the reforestation of Lesotho and to promote food security through the planting of forest and fruit trees.
Later in the year, the next phase will be the planting of fruit trees with the bank also advocating for government to reinstate the National Tree Planting Day.
Previously, this day was declared a national holiday to encourage communities to dedicate one day to plant a tree.
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