Mongolia’s presidential press office announced that the country will combat desertification by promising to plant a billion trees, starting next week.
“Mongolia aims to realize the target by 2030 to combat climate change and desertification,” the country’s president Ukhnaa Khurelsukh declared to the United Nations General Assembly.
According to the president’s press office, approximately 77 percent of the country’s territory has been affected by desertification and land degradation, leaving only 7.9 percent of the country’s total land area of 1,564,116 square km covered by forests.
During a meeting with representatives of the country’s forest specialists, scientists, researchers, and civil society organizations, the president announced that “planting trees is not something to be politicized. It is now time to end any acts of politicization and enhance national unity in order to combat desertification and reduce land degradation.”
Citizens and organizations across the nation are called to join the national tree-planting campaign.
