Vietnam’s Ambitious Goal: Planting One Billion Trees by 2025

This is hope for a greener future.

The Vietnam News Agency reports that some provinces have recently initiated tree planting activities as part of the central government’s commitment to planting 1 billion green trees nationwide by 2025.

On February 17, Phu Tho province’s leadership called on authorities at all levels in the region to plant 1.5 million green trees by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Ninh Binh province aims to plant 1 million green trees in 2021 and an additional 4.5 million green trees by 2025. Tree planting initiatives have also begun in eight districts of Thai Binh province.

Regarding the national plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted a proposal related to the 1 billion green tree plan for Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s approval. Of the 1 billion green trees, 690 million will be planted in urban areas and rural communities, while the remaining 310 million will be planted in protected, specialized, and production forests. The Ministry hopes to plant 182 million trees this year with sponsorship from both private and public sources.

Vietnam classifies forests into various types, with protective forests typically part of economic development initiatives, while production forests include trees grown for industries such as rubber and furniture production. It’s unclear which tree species will be used in this plan.

Major cities in Vietnam, especially Hanoi and Saigon, have lost numerous green trees due to urban development in recent years, with the old city having only 0.55 square meters of public green space per resident, compared to 30.3 square meters per capita in Singapore.

Officials have announced their intention to improve this situation and hope that planting more green trees will help remedy past damages.

In general, Vietnam’s forest coverage is currently around 42%, a figure that has significantly improved in recent decades, but estimates indicate that only 0.25% of the country’s total 14.6 million hectares of forest land is primary forest. In other words, very few of Vietnam’s natural old-growth trees remain after years of deforestation, while the scale of planted forests has increased in the past decade.

(Source: saigoneer.com)