TEHRAN – A national plan with the aim of planting up to one billion trees across the country to combat desertification and restore forests commenced today.

The plan is going to be carried out over the course of four years. So, planting some 250 million seedlings is targeted in the first year of the plan, IRIB reported.

Preventing the destruction of pastures by cultivating drought-resistant plants is one of the priorities of the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO).

“The implementation of this plan is divided into three parts. Government organizations, industries, and public institutions will be each responsible for one part of the plan,” Abbas-Ali Nobakht, head of the FRWMO, said.

Planting one billion saplings

In July, the FRWMO planned to produce and plant one billion saplings across the country over four years.

The Organization is determined to produce and plant one billion saplings with the participation of people benefiting from capacities that exist in the country, Nobakht said.

“Considering the climatic conditions of the country, low per capita green space, and the fact that Iran is among the countries with low forestation rate, we are obliged to produce and plant one billion saplings in a four-year period.”

The expansion of the country's green space and paying more attention to natural resources and the environment is not a new issue, he said, adding that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the President, and the Minister of Agriculture have always emphasized the need to promote the issue of tree planting and sapling planting.

In this line, mining organizations and industrial companies should be committed to participating in the sapling planting programs, he stressed.

Mostafa Jalili, an official with FRWMO, said in January that a budget amounting to 2.27 trillion rials (about $4.5 million) is projected to be spent on forestation plans.

MT/MG