UN envoy plants a tree in Erbil, invites Iraq’s presidencies to join campaign

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The UN Special Representative to Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on Monday participated in a viral environmental campaign in response to a challenge issued to her from President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani.

Hennis-Plasschaert appears in a video, published on Wednesday, planting a tree at a local school in Erbil. Her participation in the viral campaign comes a month after Barzani, on August 6, challenged her to plant a tree.

منیش بەشداریم کرد لە ھەڵمەتی 'دارێک بچینە و شارێک سەوز بکە’ pic.twitter.com/nxBhWYsUFu

— Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) August 6, 2019

“I gladly accept the challenge of President Nechirvan Barzani to plant a tree and to make the city green. Now, trees symbolically represent peace. They give a lot of energy to all of us and also important they counter climate change,” the UN envoy said.

“So now, I have planted my tree, I will challenge the three presidencies of the Republic of Iraq. So excellencies, I turn to you, President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. Please join me in turning this wonderful initiative as a national challenge of planting trees throughout Iraq.”

The campaign, known as “Plant a Tree and Make a City Green,” was launched by activists on Kurdish and Iraqi social media networks, and has gained traction with Kurdish officials, senior political figures, and individuals of all walks of life.

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, also participated in the initiative, on Aug. 8, responding to a friendly challenge from President Barzani.

Editing by Nadia Riva