The Republic of the Congo will launch the United Nations Decade on Afforestation and Reforestation early on 6 November 2026, with a mass tree-planting day at Ignie that aims to put more than 200,000 trees of various species into the ground, the country’s forest ministry announced at a diplomatic briefing in Brazzaville on 2 November.
Forest Economy Minister Rosalie Matondo brought together ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, international organisations and development partners in the capital to seek their support for the decade, which the UN General Assembly proclaimed for 2027 to 2036. The early launch coincides with Congo’s fortieth National Tree Day and will be held under the high patronage of President Denis Sassou N’Guesso, who is due to launch the decade himself.
“Afforestation and reforestation constitute a genuine solution accessible to all nations to reverse the trend of forest loss and contribute to the fight against climate change,” Matondo told the gathering, placing the decade squarely within the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainable forest management.
A launch at Ignie, planting across the country
The planting will centre on a prepared official site at PK 45, in the Maloukou industrial zone of Ignie district, in the Djoue-Lefini department, and will extend to departments, districts and neighbourhoods across the country. Eucalyptus, acacias and tropical pines are among the species named, with the declared aim of showcasing the results of national forestry research.
According to the ministry, President Sassou N’Guesso is expected to be joined by fellow heads of state and senior dignitaries, including President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic and President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, the current chairman of the African Union, as well as Gabon’s Vice-President, Hugues Alexandre Barro Chambrier, and Khalillur Rahman, President of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Their attendance is reported as expected, not yet confirmed by the organisers in the reporting available.
From a 2022 appeal to a UN decade
Matondo traced the initiative to an appeal made by President Sassou N’Guesso in Egypt in November 2022, during the UN climate conference, and to the first International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation held in Brazzaville in July 2024. The UN General Assembly adopted the decade on 16 April 2025 by 155 votes to one, inviting the UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Forum on Forests secretariat to contribute their expertise.
Presenting the resolution, Congo’s delegate told the General Assembly that the planet loses 10 million hectares of forests each year while the world population increases, and that the decade should help mobilise action at all levels of government to stop the loss of forest cover. The decade is formally titled the UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation in line with Sustainable Forest Management (2027-2036).
Foreign Minister Constant-Serge Bounda, who joined Matondo at the briefing, called the initiative “the fruit of a collective commitment to the preservation of ecosystems” and said Congo had carried it to the United Nations in New York through partnership. “It is through this partnership that we were able to carry this initiative to the United Nations in New York,” he said, urging partners to sustain their engagement for the protection of the Congo Basin forests.
What 2027 will bring: youth, mass planting, institutions
Beyond the ceremony, Matondo said Congo wants to make 2027 the spearhead of a new national dynamic in afforestation and reforestation, shaped by three programmes: “Youth for the Decade”, a “General Mobilisation for Mass Planting” and “Planting with Institutions”.
The youth programme, to be carried out during the launch festivities, covers planting trees along the city’s main thoroughfares and greening open spaces. It places young people at the heart of the effort, giving priority to their entry into working life through small forestry and agroforestry enterprises. A travelling conference on afforestation and reforestation is also to be organised.
Partners at the briefing responded in concrete terms. Anne Marshall, representing the European Union, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to forest preservation and the energy transition, stressing alternatives to fuelwood, notably through renewable energy. Adama Dian Barry, the UN Development Programme’s representative in Congo, pledged continued technical support, including travelling conferences on forestry and on adding value to non-timber forest products, and pointed to efforts to help young people devise clean-cooking solutions that reduce household dependence on charcoal.
Speaking for his peers, the dean of the diplomatic corps, Angola’s ambassador Vincente Mouanda, said the missions stood ready to accompany the initiative and to help mobilise their countries behind the UN resolution. “There is an obligation for our States to support this process, in order to preserve our environment and guarantee a world as we wish it for future generations,” he said.
The launch comes just days before COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November, where forests, land restoration and climate finance are expected to feature in the negotiations. Congo’s National Tree Day itself was instituted by Law No. 062-84 of 11 September 1984 as an occasion to rally national and international support for restoring the country’s forest heritage.
For more climate coverage, see Watan News Climate.
Key facts
- Early launch: 6 November 2026, Ignie, Republic of the Congo, coinciding with the fortieth National Tree Day
- Planting target: More than 200,000 trees of various species, including eucalyptus, acacias and tropical pines
- Main site: PK 45, Maloukou industrial zone, Ignie district, Djoue-Lefini department, with planting nationwide
- UN Decade: 2027-2036, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on 16 April 2025 by 155 votes to one
- Diplomatic briefing: 2 November 2026, Brazzaville, led by Forest Economy Minister Rosalie Matondo and Foreign Minister Constant-Serge Bounda
- 2027 programmes: Youth for the Decade; General Mobilisation for Mass Planting; Planting with Institutions
- Forest loss cited: 10 million hectares of forests lost each year, according to Congo’s delegate to the UN
