ADRA Myanmar is implementing in Labutta, Ayeyarwaddy, three-year LIFT-funded project, namely the Sustainable Community Alternative Livelihood Enhancement to Undermine Poverty (SCALE UP) Project that started from June 2011 with total contracted budget of USD 1,693,276. In the project area, mangrove trees have been clearly cut down for many years for paddy cultivation, sea salt production, aquaculture, and house building to meet the requirement of ever-growing population and in-migrants.
Consequently, the habitants living in this project area with small natural protection of mangrove forests were extremely destroyed by Nargis in 2008. Without the said forests, bio-diversity, ecological nature and ecosystem will be diminishing gradually. In fact, Mangroves are providing Life and Livelihood for local communities. ADRA believes, “we must build a bridge between mangroves and the future”.
In this planting season, Monsoon Tree Planting Ceremony organized by ADRA-Labutta was held on 29 July 2013 inside the compound of cyclone shelter/hospital at Pyinsalu Sub-Township in Labutta. The ceremony was attended and participated by 217 representatives who were from General Administrative Department, Police Force, Forestry Department, Education Department, LNGOs (LEAD, PACT, and Women Affairs), Political Parties, CBOs (Forest Users Group, Marketing & Aquaculture Product Development Group), elderly & respective persons, and teachers and students from State Primary & Middle Schools. In this ceremony, altogether 2250 seedlings were planted in different species of mangrove and non-mangrove trees namely Eucalyptus, Te (Diospyros Burmanica), Kayay (Mimusops Elengi), Pyinma (Lagerstroemia Speciosa), Mahogany (Swietenia Macrophylla), Kokko (Albizzia Lebbek), Sithapyay, Thamme`(Avicennia Officinalis), Byu Chidauk (Rhizophora Candelaria), and Madama (Dalbergia Ovata).
The objectives of this planting ceremony are as follows:
- To raise the awareness of the community on the value of trees
- To raise the awareness of the younger generations on the value of trees
- To protect the community from suffering natural disasters
- To keep up the weather condition fine and better
- To protect riverbanks and lands from being eroded and landslide
- To be available of construction materials such as timbers, posts and poles
- To be available of firewood and charcoal
