Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts will lead a nationwide campaign to plant 10 million trees on Heritage Day on 24 September 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen climate resilience and promote environmental sustainability.

The campaign forms part of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Presidential One Billion Trees Programme, which seeks to mobilise South Africans from all walks of life to contribute to the greening of the country and efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The programme brings together government, business, the private sector, interfaith organisations, the diplomatic corps, traditional leaders, non-governmental organisations, youth formations and communities in a collective tree-planting initiative.

"The initiative, which is linked to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, is a clarion call to South Africans from all walks of life to participate and contribute towards the greening of the country," the department said in a statement.

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Among its targets, Goal 13 calls for strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, integrating climate-change measures into policies and planning, and improving public awareness and capacity on climate mitigation and adaptation.

The main tree-planting events will take place in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

In Pretoria, Swarts will lead the tree-planting event at Freedom Park Heritage Site in Salvokop before joining Gauteng MEC for Environment Ewan Botha at Noordgesig in Soweto, Johannesburg.

Tree-planting activities will also take place across all nine provinces as part of the Heritage Day celebrations, led by Premiers and/or MECs responsible for environmental affairs.

"The campaign to plant 10 million trees contributes to climate resilience, promotes environmental awareness, and encourages individuals and organisations to actively participate in greening their communities," the department said.

The initiative also complements the SDGs focus on climate action and sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems, including forests, restoration and combating land degradation.