The Project "Planting one billion trees in the period of 2021 - 2025".

On 1/4/2021, the Prime Minister issued the Decision No. 524 / QD-TTg approving the project "Planting one billion trees in the period of 2021 - 2025".

According to the Decision, the goal of the Project is that by the end of 2025, the whole country would plant one billion trees, of which 690 million trees are planted in urban and rural areas, 310 million trees are concentratedly grown in the protection forests, special-use forests and newly planted in production forests, in order to contribute to protecting the ecological environment, improving the landscape and coping with climate change, developing the socio-economic situation, and improving the quality of people’s life and sustainable development of the country.

The Project offers four points of view: Raising awareness and responsibilities of all levels of committees, authorities, communities and people for forest development and trees plantation; improving the quality and value of forest ecosystems, bringing into play the role of forests and trees in the socio-economic development, protecting the ecological environment and natural landscape, and limiting the impact of climate change; green tree development requires the participation of the whole political system, agencies, organizations, households and individuals. Promoting the tree plantation tradition initiated by Uncle Ho, making the trees plantation truly become a practical and effective emulation movement of all levels, sectors and in each residential area with the active participation of all people, avoid the showing off in performance; playing as a practical act of learning and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style; enhancing socialization, attracting all resources from all economic sectors and integrating the socio-economic development programs to plant a billion green trees. In particular, in addition to concentrated afforestation, it is necessary to increase the rate of scattered greenery in rural areas, urban areas, roads, urban infrastructure works, educational, medical and cultural works, factories, industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech parks, cultural and historical zones ... ensure the greenery percentage according to national technical regulations; trees plantation must go with care, protection, management and supervision to ensure that trees and forests grow and develop well.

To successfully plant one billion trees in accordance with the existing ecological conditions, planning and land fund of each locality, in which green trees (urban and rural areas) are planted scatteredly:

- Quantity: 690 million trees, with an average of 138 million trees / year.

- Requirements on plant species: To select plant species suitable to the purpose, landscape and ecological conditions, farming practices of each locality, each specific area; priority is given to planting indigenous trees, with wooden trunks, multi-purpose, environmental protection value, high protective effect, rare and precious trees, bearing the cultural identity of localities, regions and areas.

- Planting locations in urban areas: planting on pavements, parks, flower gardens, squares; in the campuses of offices, schools, hospitals, factories, industrial parks, export processing zones, religious buildings, home gardens and other public works.

- Planting locations in rural areas: planting on home land, traffic corridors, riverside, canals, ditches, banks, fields; on campuses of offices, schools, hospitals, factories, industrial parks, export processing zones, religious buildings and other public works; protection in agricultural cultivation areas and scattered small plots; areas at high risk of landslides, degraded land, desertification, mineral dumping sites and other unused land.

The implementation for the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities:

- Review the land use planning and plans, determine the land fund for planting protective forests and newly planted production forests; land for planning for urban greenery, land for development to plant scattered green trees in rural areas, ... as a basis for building and implementing programs, plans and projects on afforestation, planting of scattered green trees annually and the whole period of 2021 - 2025.

- Arrange local budgets according to budget decentralization, integrate from programs and projects and call on organizations and businesses, mobilize legal capital sources to participate and join hands to contribute to planting and taking care of trees for the community, ...

- Proactively prepare enough good quality seedlings with species and standards in accordance with specific technical standards and guidelines according to the approved plans and projects.

- Develop and organize the implementation of green tree development programs and plans in the area. To organize, maintain and develop the movement "Planting trees on New Year" and people planting trees annually; launch emulation, assign tree planting targets to localities, agencies, units and each residential area. To create favorable conditions for agencies, organizations, unions, schools, the armed forces and all classes of people to actively participate in tree planting and afforestation.

- Inspect, direct, supervise and assign responsibilities to localities, organizations and unions in the process of planting, caring, protecting and managing forests and trees.

- Organize the evaluation annually, draw experience, promptly solve difficulties, problems, praise, commend, and replicate typical organizations and individuals that do well; strictly handle acts of destroying forests and trees; synthesize reports and send them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for synthesis.

In addition, the Decision also sets out the tasks of planting green trees in concentrated forests; solutions, funding and implementation of the Project.

Source: Hoang Ha