MORE than 8,300 trees have been planted in Hamad Town as part of a national initiative aimed at doubling the number of trees in the country by 2035.
The saplings were planted on Shaikh Hamad Avenue under the second phase of the National Afforestation Programme, with around 2,500 more to be planted in the third phase.
Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry Under-Secretary Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa conducted a field tour of the site, confirming that work to increase the number of green spaces across the various governorates is on track.
He was accompanied by Northern Municipality director general Lamia Al Fadhala and other ministry officials.
“More than 8,300 trees were planted on Shaikh Hamad Avenue by the end of the second phase of the project,” said Shaikh Mohammed.
“As part of the third phase, which the ministry recently launched, around 2,500 saplings will be planted in order to reach our goal of 10,800 trees along an 18km stretch of the road.
“The ministry will continue to implement afforestation programmes and initiatives in co-operation with other ministries and government agencies in order to reach our goal in the National Afforestation Programme.
“We will also continuously follow up on sustainable development projects, especially ones that improve aesthetics of an area, preserve the environment, increase green areas or increase biological diversity.”
Bahrain aims to reach ‘zero neutrality’ in terms of carbon emissions by the year 2060. To achieve this goal, the kingdom has adopted a set of initiatives.
This includes doubling the number of mangrove trees by establishing a group of agricultural nurseries to produce thousands of mangroves to rehabilitate a number of areas.
More than 140,000 trees are being planted in public streets and squares, and 110,000 mangroves will be planted in approved sites.
The National Afforestation Programme was announced following COP26, with the aim to double the number of trees in the country from 1.8 million to 3.6m by 2035 – around 270,000 trees annually.
The GDN reported in July that the National Initiative for Agricultural Development announced it had completed the third phase of the national afforestation campaign Forever Green.
More than 40,000 trees and shrubs were planted over an area of 14,243sqm and 7,463 linear metres across the country.
The campaign, in co-operation with other ministries, has completed 47 afforestation projects at various sites in Bahrain.
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