Over the past few days, many districts and agencies across in Da Nang have launched the 'Eternal gratitude to Uncle Ho' tree-planting campaign and started planting trees in early spring with a more bustling ambiance than previous years. This not only shows the sense of responsibility to well implement the Prime Minister-approved project ‘Plant 1 billion trees in the 2021 - 2025 period nationwide’ and join hands to protect the environment, ecology and fight against climate change, natural disaster reduction, but it also help the city meet the criteria of urbanism, contribute to becoming an environmentally-friendly city towards an ecological city in the future.

The leaders of the Da Nang authorities join the planning of trees in Hoa Khuong Commune, Hoa Vang District.

Tree planting festival is a practical and exciting activity launched by local districts and localities in the implementation of the Prime Minister - approved ‘Plant 1 billion trees in the 2021 - 2025 period nationwide’ project. Hoa Vang District has pioneered in promoting the tree planting in order to meet criteria set for a fourth-class urban area, an important step on the journey to become a new town by 2025.

Over recent years, Hoa Vang and other districts have promoted the movement of planting trees, especially planting as many as 364,000 trees in 2022. The launching of the Lunar New Year tree planting festival in the early spring is an opportunity for the whole district to mobilise residents and organisations to plant more trees, protect and take care of them and develop many green buildings.

Vice Chairman of Hoa Vang District People's Committee Phan Duy Anh said that the district has asked relevant agencies to develop plans to enthusiastically plant trees and promote afforestation, especially striving to maintain the annual forest cover density in the district reaching from 73 - 75%.

According to the Da Nang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in an active response to the Prime Minister’s project ‘Plant 1 billion trees in the 2021 - 2025 period nationwide’, 673,441 trees have so far been planted, of which 36,116 trees. At the beginning of 2023, localities and agencies in the city have registered 254,149 seedlings of all kinds.

According to the national 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.

Currently, the ratio of urban green land area of the city is only 3.95m²/person and the area of public green land in the inner city is only 2.6m²/person. From now to 2030, the city will strives to raise the ratio of public green land in the inner city to 6m2/person and the rate of public green land in the whole urban area is 15m²/person.

To achieve this goal, in addition to planning and building more parks to increase the area of green land in the whole urban area and public green land in the inner city, the joint efforts made by local districts and agencies, especially local residents, in planting more trees play an important role in helping the city achieve the targets on the city’s urban green area.

In addition, under the project ‘Building Da Nang into an Environmentally-friendly City’ for the 2021 - 2030 period, the city aims to maintain the increase of forest cover rate to 47.17%.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by A.THU