JUBA, South Sudan

South Sudan launched a campaign Thursday to plant 100 million trees in the next 10 years to ease the effects of climate change and restore wasteland.

The launch was part of the celebration for World Environment Day in Juba under the theme, Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Livelihood.

Minister of Environment and Forestry Josephine Napwon Cosmos urged residents to participate and ensure the success of the agenda to make South Sudan green.

Cosmos said the project will help to mitigate the effect of climate change and restore the degraded land-based ecosystem.

She warned of rampant illegal felling of trees which are likely to be a huge environmental degradation issue in the near future.

“When you go to this forest, most of the people are doing the destruction and cutting the trees are people who are armed,” she said.

"We must strive to create sustainable ways of living, working and developing while at the same time protecting, restoring and creating new ecosystems for the future generations,” she said.

"We have to embark on modern innovations like regenerative agriculture, climate smart farming practices and reforestation and afforestation efforts which are, at the core of ecosystem restoration in the rural areas of South Sudan,” she added.