Netherlands donates 2,000 trees to boost Kurdistan’s environmental efforts
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Dutch Consul General in Erbil Hans Akerboom on Wednesday planted the first twenty of a donation by his government of 2,000 trees on Mount Goizha, located in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani province in the presence of local officials.
As a gift from the Netherlands to preserve the nature of Kurdistan, Sulaimani Governor @HavalAbubaker and I planted trees on Mount Goizha as part of a project to plant 2000 trees. 1000 trees will be on the hills around #Slemani. And 1,000 trees will be planted around #Erbil. pic.twitter.com/he7Gdvn4kv
— Hans Akerboom (@jtmakerboom) December 24, 2020
“Today we planted some trees here and in the end we will donate from the Netherlands 2,000 trees here in Sulaimani and other parts of the Kurdistan Region. We think as the Netherlands that we need more trees for a healthy and sustainable environment,” Akerboom told Kurdistan 24.
“If you look around here, there were fires, there is erosion and lot of trees disappeared in the last years,” he added. “With this small gesture from the government from the Netherlands we try to support the Kurdistan region, here in Sulaimani, making the city even more green than it already is.”
Mount Goizha suffered from a huge wildfire that destroyed large tracts of forestland in September.
Read More: Sulaimani’s Mount Goizha fire extinguished at dawn: Governor
“In the end, we will plant here 1,000 trees in Sulaimani. And the governor and I, we planted the first 20 trees, but of course there will be 980 trees more. So, in the end here in Sulaimani, we will have 1,000 trees,” the Dutch Consul explained.
The remaining 1,000 trees are scheduled to be planted with the continued support of the Dutch Consulate in January 2021.
“We are doing this because it’s very important to create a green world,” the Dutch Consul stressed. “We are making this gift to the government and the people of the Kurdistan Region. We are also working very close together the Netherlands and the Kurdistan Region in the field of agriculture.”
Read More: Dutch-funded program signs agreement to boost agriculture sector in Kurdistan Region
Dutch consul @jtmakerboom and Sulaimani governor @HavalAbubaker plant trees on Goizha Mountain as part of a project to plant 1000 trees in Sulaimani. 1000 more trees will be planted in Erbil in Jan. The trees are gifts from the Dutch to conserve Kurdistan's nature. pic.twitter.com/NJJDjebeF7
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) December 23, 2020
The trees were provided by Gardenia, a Kurdistan-based Dutch garden center in Sulaimani, with the cooperation of the Dutch Consulate.
“They supported us with a budget to supply around 2,000 trees. That you can see next to us,” said Ranj Farhad, CEO of Gardenia. “These are cupressus sempiverens trees that grow very tall and look very nice in the future.”
Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir, who attended the event, said during the planting, “This cooperation has generated an important diplomatic relation between the Kurdistan Region and the Netherlands. To highlight this partnership, today, the Dutch Consul General and his staff are here with us in Sulaimania, joining the initiative by [donating] 1,000 trees.”
“We invite everyone to responsibly approach the nature and preserve it as it gives our area beauty, freshness, and touristic benefits. Our guests today have shown a universal human spirit, for planting a tree anywhere on the earth is a fresh air to human life – and anywhere with corruption, destruction, drugs, and terror, will be a threat to all humanity,” Abubakir told Kurdistan 24.
“Therefore, as we stood together during Corona times, we will remain together in preserving the nature, the use of renewable energy resources and agriculture. We look forward to continued relations between the Netherlands, Sulaimani governorate and local companies so we could fulfill the interests of our country and all humanity.”
Various districts throughout the autonomous Kurdistan Region have led similar initiatives to plant trees that have included the participation of both local civil society and local municipalities.
Read More: Kurdistan Region launches campaign to plant 60,000 trees in Erbil
Last year, a campaign began with support of former Sulaimani Governor Haval Abu Bakr to plant trees over close to 4,000 acres in the area. Also in October, the Kurdistan Region launched a campaign to plant 60,000 trees in Erbil province to improve the air quality.
Editing by John J. Catherine