2 billion trees to be planted in Kazakhstan by 2025

ASTANA: Two billion trees will be planted in Kazakhstan by 2025, the Ministry of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources has said.

In January 2021, the Kazakh government developed the national project «Green Kazakhstan» that included four directions.

Under the first direction «Taza Kazakhstan» (Clean Kazakhstan), there will be a reduction in emissions by 20% at 16 major industrial enterprises in the next five years is foreseen. Over 8,000 separate collection containers will be installed.

The level of solid waste management will be increased from 18% to 34%. It is planned to carry out the second phase of the project «Syr Darya riverbed regulation and preservation of the northern part of the Aral Sea».

Measures to increase waters and capacity of the rives in the basin of Lake Balkhash are provided, Kabar News Agency reported, quoting Kazinform reports.

The second direction, called «Unemdi Kazakhstan» (Economical Kazakhstan), envisages reduction in water loss while irrigating four cubic kilometers by reconstructing 401 and digitalizing 212 channels.

The area of irrigated land is to be increased by 600,000 ha. Nine new reservoirs in Akmola, West Kazkahstan, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda, and Turkestan regions with the capacity of 1.7 cubic kilometers will be built by 2025.

Within the third direction «Tabigat» (Nature), two billion trees with a survival rate of at least 65% will be planted. Measures to recover the number of rare and endangered animals will be taken.

The fourth direction called «Ecology bolashagy» (The future of the environment) aims at increasing the level of eco-education and culture of the population.

In 2021, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that active forest cultivation plays an important role in carbon-dioxide absorption.

He added that Kazakhstan is among the sparsely forested countries. The area of its forest fund totals 30 million ha or 11% of its territory.