In Ukraine, on the World Day of Forests on March 21, a spring campaign for planting forests was officially launched, as part of which at least 200 million seedlings are planned to be planted.
Forests will also be restored in the de-occupied territories, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets reports on Facebook.
He emphasized that the planting of forests takes place within the framework of the Green Country program of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Almost 245.5 million trees have been planted so far, although the program's plan called for 343 million to be planted by spring 2023.
The program envisages planting 1 billion trees by the end of 2025.
The shooter emphasized that currently the Russian army has turned the forests into an arena of hostilities. Thus, almost half a million hectares of Ukrainian forest are under occupation, which will require restoration.
"We strive for sustainable forest use. Our goal is not plantation-type forest areas, but as close as possible to natural ones," the minister said.
He added that in order to protect and restore forests, the Ministry of Environment, together with the eco-community, is preparing a ban on the use of invasive tree species when creating forests.
"I call on everyone on this day to think about how forests stand in the way of the aggressor and help Ukrainians to win Victory. These thousands and millions of hectares of burned land are a separate payment for Independence, which our people defend with weapons in their hands. Let's remember this and protect our forests!" said the Strilets.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that on Tuesday, March 21, the world will celebrate International or World Forestry Day, which is designed to draw society's attention to the importance of forest conservation.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources created a working group that should compile a list of invasive (alien) tree species.
