Over 130 Million Tree and Shrub Seedlings Planted This Spring
2025-05-06 14:00:00 / News
It should be noted that in 2021, on the initiative of the head of state, the nationwide project “Yashil makon” was launched, setting the goal of planting at least 200 million tree and shrub seedlings annually, and increasing the country's green coverage to 30%.
According to the Department for the Development of Forestry, Protected Natural Areas, and Combating Desertification under the Ministry of Ecology, the following numbers of seedlings were planted within the project: 86 million in autumn 2021, 203 million in 2022, 220 million in 2023, and 227 million in 2024. In addition, the area of green plantings on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea and in the Aral Sea region has reached 2 million hectares. Thus, over the past 4 years, a total of 872 million tree and shrub seedlings have been planted throughout the country.
According to the Presidential Decree “On the State Program for Implementing the Uzbekistan – 2030 Strategy in the ‘Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy’,” the goal for 2025 is to plant 200 million trees and shrubs within the “Yashil makon” and “My Garden” projects to improve the ecological appearance of neighborhoods, increase street greenery, and create a comfortable environmental atmosphere.
In addition, the creation of a 100,000-hectare green zone on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea is planned, along with the expansion of forested areas in the Aral Sea region to 2.1 million hectares.
According to experts, 1 hectare of haloxylon (saxaul) in desert areas can absorb 1,158 kg of carbon dioxide annually and release roughly the same amount of oxygen. One haloxylon tree can retain up to 3 tons of sand and dust. In mountainous regions, a single juniper tree produces about 30 kg of phytoncides per year — substances highly beneficial to human health.