Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO) says conserving the natural environment can help to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change in the country.

YONECO’s Executive Director MacBain Mkandawire made the remarks on Saturday when the organization, with support from Hivos, planted trees in Ndangopuma Hill in Zomba City.

Mkandawire observed that the loss of some glorious natural resources in the district such as the fading lake Chilwa is a result of environmental damage that has happened in the uplands.

He said the current climate shocks and catastrophic changes that have become so rampant in most parts of the country are as a result of environmental degradation.

Mkandawire said tree planting and environmental management are the only solutions to stimulate and enhance natural regeneration.

“In 2017 we launched our strategic and within it there is a component that looks at climate change and adaptation, so within that we are supposed to do environmental rehabilitation to look at the degraded areas and support them.”

He observed that the loss of some glorious natural resources in the district such as the dying Lake Chilwa is a result of environmental damage in the uplands.

“We are planting about 5,000 trees today to make sure that the place get rehabilitated. We hope that in the process we can control erosion because most of the soil that leaves this place are going towards Lake Chilwa.”

“We all know this year it dried up and we don’t think this is healthy for the whole country,” Mkandawire said.

In his remarks, chairperson for Zomba CSO Newtone Sandy Sindo commended Yoneco for the gesture saying this will help to prevent the district from facing further shocks.

“This is a very remarkable exercise because when this mountain is well covered with vegetation we are very sure that people down there including Lake Chilwa will be protected.”

Ndangopuma Hill was once encroached by an individual for the past three years but was forcefully stopped by the city’s mayor.

But in his remarks, Zomba City Mayor Christopher Jana said his office will never anyone invade any protected area in order to deal with devastating impacts of soil degradation.

“We will not allow people to build houses or whatever in protected areas. This is our country, this is our city we need to take care of it ourselves. You remember because of this construction the main road down there was blocked due to erosion,” he said.

YONECO is championing the Go Green campaign which has seen people using other sources of energy thereby conserving the environment.