In an active response to the national project ‘Growing 1 billion trees in Viet Nam in the 2021-2025 period’ approved by the Prime Minister, since the beginning of 2021, the Da Nang authorities, organizations, businesses and local dwellers have focused on tree nursery and tree planting activities to protect the ecological environment, improve the landscape and respond to climate change, thereby contributing to lifting socio-economic development, and improve the people's quality of life.

By the end of 2025, Da Nang is expected to plant 5,017,000 trees of all kinds.

Head of the Forestry Plantation and Forestry Seed Development Station Pham Hong Ky takes care of orangutan trees. Photo: THANH TINH

Nurturing green sprouts in the middle of mountains

For the time being, the Forestry Plantation and Forest Seed Development Station in Gian Bi Village, Hoa Bac Commune, Hoa Vang District, Da Nang is the place to nurse seedlings for supplies to projects and people across the city. It is also a venue where seedlings are incubated to serve the national project ‘Growing 1 billion trees’.

According to Head of the Forestry Plantation and Forestry Seed Development Station Pham Hong Ky, every year, 10,000 seedlings are incubated in this station, but from 2021, this figure has increased significantly. These are seedlings forestry, environmental and scattered trees.

These varieties boast the wide canopy, the good root system, and especially they are hesitant against the harsh environment.

In addition to serving afforestation, the station also provides seedlings for military units, schools, departments, branches and mass organisations in need.

In parallel with seed breeding, the station's key tasks are to manage, protect and develop forests, supervise projects on afforestation, zoning and regeneration, in tandem with promoting forest fire prevention.

The Da Nang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted to the city for approval a project to upgrade and renovate the Forestry Plantation and Forest Seed Development Station into a Tissue Culture Production Centre.

Realising target of planting more than 5 million trees

According to the antional project, of the 1 billion trees to be planted by the end of 2025, 690 million will be grown in urban and rural areas, and 310 million planted in protected, special, and production forests.

The project aims to protect the ecosystem, improve the scenery, respond to climate change, boost socio-economic development, improve the quality of people's life and foster the sustainable growth of the country.

Da Nang is on track to implement this project of great significance to the environment with a target of planting a combined total of 5,017,000 concentrated and scattered trees of all kinds throughout the city by the end of 2025.

Under the Da Nang plan, by late 2025, VND143.1 billion from the State budget and VND59.6 billion in aid from organisations and individuals will be spent on planting 5,017 million trees in a concentrated and scattered manner with a wide range of types in order to protect the ecological environment, improve the landscape and well respond to climate change, thus contribute to socio-economic development, and the enhancement of the life quality.

in detail, 163,000 trees (equivalent to a growing area of 260.8ha) will be planted on such sites as street pavements, parks, flower gardens, squares, the campuses of agencies, offices, schools and hospitals, factories, industrial parks, home gardens, farmland and public works in urban areas.

Meanwhile, 1.85 million trees will be planted in similar areas in rural areas.

Also, 3 million trees (equivalent to 2,140ha, excluding replacement afforestation) will be planted in new protection, special-use and new concentrated production forests.

The municipal administration shall stipulate the types of plants and standards in accordance with the characteristics of urban, rural and forest areas.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Viet Phuong, in 2021, the whole city saw the planting of more than 22 hectares of zoning and regeneration, and more than 1,013 hectares of concentrated afforestation

Since the beginning of this year, the number of seedlings planted in the city has reached nearly 3.8 million.

In addition to providing seedlings for units, departments and branches, the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has organised inspection visits t the planting units to ensure tree quality and planting techniques.

In another worth-praising move, functional local bodies are also developing a system of public trees across the city in a bid to create a green - clean - beautiful urban appearance, forming many green-coved stretches in riverside and coastal landscapes.

More public parks and gardens have taken their shape to increase green space for residential areas.
In s similar vein, schools and educational institutions have geared up implementing the ‘Green School’ model so that the urban face of the city is greener, cleaner and more beautiful.

Deputy Director of the City Department of Construction Vo Tan Ha said that his agency  will focus on completing the project ‘Developing urban greenery in Da Nang in the 2021 – 2030 period’ and proposing the construction of tree planting projects to create impressive landscape in riverside areas, with a heed paid to increasing shade trees with brilliant blossoms along riverside routes to serve the city's tourism development, especially waterway tourism.

Reporting by THANH TINH – Translating by A.THU