ArmInfo.Armenia launched the implementation of a program for planting 10 million seedlings.

As RA Deputy Minister of Environment Vardan Melikyan said at a  February 3 press conference, in order to acquire the necessary  planting material, relevant requests were sent to Russia, Belarus,  Georgia, Kazakhstan and Iran. In particular, the Belarusian side  announced its readiness to provide 10 million pine seedlings and up  to one million birch seedlings. Collaboration with Poland and Finland  is also planned.

The territories where the seedlings are planned to be planted are  already mapped, and at the next stage, the specialists will have to  select the plots taking into account which climate and soil will be  more preferable for a particular breed. As noted, the areas under  planting do not need to provide additional irrigation.  According to  Melikyan, tree planting will start tentatively on October 10,  however, this program will also have an educational component in  order to increase awareness of environmental aspects.

We add that by ratifying the Paris Agreement, Armenia committed to  increase the size of forest territories by 285 thousand ha by 2050,  which implies the planting of 800-900 million trees. This means that  up to 30 million seedlings should be planted at an annual rate. This  process automatically implies the creation of new nurseries of  seedlings, the creation of additional jobs, active interaction with  communities adjacent to forests, and so on. According to experts, the  large-scale planting program will enter the active phase around  2025-2026.