Kurdistan Region launches campaign to plant 60,000 trees in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Officials in the Kurdistan Region's capital city launched a major tree-planting project on Thursday as part of continued efforts to improve air quality and enhance the appearance of the local environment.

Erbil Governor Firsat Sofi said in a statement posted on social media, "We started in Erbil a major autumn campaign for forestation."

Government workers and residents are expected to plant 60,000 trees in three areas: one located near the Manara Park, a second in the Hawleri Nwe neighborhood, and the third in the Roshinbiran neighborhood.

The effort will be carried out in coordination with parks departments, the city council, and the Environmental Protection Authority of the Kurdistan Region.

"We have prepared everything so that any citizen can plant a tree” on an occasion of their choosing, Sofi added.

The governor emphasized that the project's goal is to make the city more beautiful and to increase its area of "greenness," which he said currently stands at 19 percent. He pledged that the planting would continue until the number of trees in Erbil reached "international levels."

Various districts throughout the autonomous Kurdistan Region have led similar initiatives that have included the participation of both local civil society and local municipalities.

In late December, the town of Qushtapa joined a tree-planting campaign that was being carried out in other parts of the region, which officials said were part of an expansive plan that would increase forestation in both the inner cities and rural areas.

Related Article: Town outside Erbil joins Kurdistan Region tree-planting project 

Editing by John J. Catherine