Gran Sembratón Nacional, the initiative with which it is expected to plant more than four million native trees in Colombia

This Friday, April 22, the date on which Earth Day is commemorated, the Colombian Ministry of Environment launched the Great Sembratón, an initiative that will involve citizens, organizations and companies from the public and private sectors that aims to plant more than four million trees to reforest ecosystems in the national territory.

Starting this Friday and until April 29, the date on which International Arbor Day is celebrated, more than 400 activities related to the planting of native trees will be carried out in more than 200 municipalities throughout the country, with the aim of contributing to the goal set by the national Government of planting 180 million trees before the end of 2022.

“I invite all Colombians to participate in this Great National Sembraton. Recovering, restoring and conserving ecosystems and degraded areas is everyone's job, we have set ourselves the goal of planting 180 million trees, more than 118 million have already been reported in the Tree Counter; we are achieving this with the support of communities, regional autonomous corporations, mayors and governorates, the public and private sectors, the Army, NGOs and international cooperation, among other allies,” said Environment Minister Carlos Eduardo Correa.

Likewise, the head of the portfolio highlighted that trees of myrtle, shrimp grape, oak, cedar, gualanday, cañaguate, laurel and granadillo will be planted, among other species of the ecosystems of the territory, which will be the setting for this environmental initiative that seeks to have a major impact on the restoration of ecosystems, which during the last months and in various parts of the country have been the target of deforestation.

Within the framework of this initiative, 15 private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, public institutions and the National Environmental System (SINA) met last Tuesday to verify and present progress in the restoration process being carried out in the country. During the meeting, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam) noted that in the verification exercise that was carried out in 2021, 93% of the data from the Trees Counter digital tool were validated.

“It was a very productive exercise, it was a technical work table where we concluded that first we have to continue united as public and private institutions working for the restoration of ecosystems, and, second, that this is more than planting trees, this involves processes in the territory of knowledge, planning, execution, but, above all, sustainability; and thirdly, the linking of communities as key actors in restoration. In the 180 Millions of Trees program we have projects with indigenous communities, peasants, ex-combatants, Community Action Boards,” said the director of Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of the Minambiente, Adriana Santa.

During this meeting, the participating entities publicized the processes of ecosystem restoration and highlighted the importance of linking communities for the appropriation of these territories in the programs and linking them to the National Ecological Restoration Plan, such as the Payments for Environmental Services program with which have managed to conserve 260,110 hectares of ecosystems in the country.

Finally, the Ministry of Environment issued an invitation to report the sowing that takes place during these days in which the Great National Sembraton will take place through the portfolio counter through https://www.respira2030.gov.co/sumate-a-la-iniciativa/ or through the Respira 2030 application.

“We need capacities, research, seeds; we are working on this to leave the Forest Seed Bank and generate supply for planting. We also need greater capacity for nurseries, which are generating seedlings and a lot of training for the community, especially for women,” concluded Minister Carlos Eduardo Correa.

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