The Egyptian Ministry of Environment finished planting more than 1.4 million trees within a year, as part of the “100 Million Trees” presidential initiative, which aims to confront climate change.
The Egyptian presidency launched the initiative in 2022, and its plan includes planting 10 million trees in 2023 and 15 million trees annually until 2029.
The ministry explained in a statement that it is working in cooperation with other ministries to achieve the goals of the initiative, with a plan to plant another 1.5 million trees, in addition to 500,000 trees in villages.
The Ministry of Environment is participating in planting 13 million trees over 7 years, while the Ministry of Local Development is contributing by planting 80 million, and the New Urban Communities Authority is planting 7 million, according to the statement.
The Ministry indicated that the initiative includes roads and central islands, and the scope of government agencies such as schools, universities, and youth centers, as well as industrial areas and the desert backs of the governorates, in addition to main, regional and ring roads, and the entrances to cities and villages, main squares and internal islands.
The initiative aims to increase the green area, achieve maximum economic benefit from trees, improve the public health of citizens, and employ the workforce by planting new tree fruits and providing job opportunities.
Among the environmental benefits of the initiative are “obtaining pure oxygen by improving air quality, reducing the risks of climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 61.2 million tons annually, equivalent to 20 percent of Egypt’s current total annual emissions,” according to the text of the initiative.
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