Manama : In implementation of the ongoing directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on increasing afforestation in all areas of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister today planted the 160,000th tree in Salman City.
This marked meeting the target of the afforestation plan for the year 2023.
The success of the afforestation plan in continuing to meet its targets for the second consecutive year, affirms that Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and with the follow up of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, continues to work towards fulfilling its commitments of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by the year 2035 and reaching zero neutrality by 2060 to contribute to protecting the environment and addressing climate change challenges, the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Transforming afforestation into a national scale executive plan and connecting its objectives to international efforts and initiatives indicates that Bahrain is an active player in the United Nations community, which seeks to remedy climate challenges and mitigate their impact in a phasic pattern, he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister commended the efforts of the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture and all the affiliates of the ministry, particularly those involved in the afforestation plan. He thanked them for working towards achieving objectives that seek to preserve the environment, resources and biodiversity and improve the quality of life and air and provide green spaces.
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for civil society organisations for supporting the afforestation plan initiatives, noting that this demonstrated their awareness of the importance of protecting the environment and the role of community partnership in this regard.
The Deputy Prime Minister also commended the effective partnership between the public and private sector in all domains, including efforts for afforestation and maintaining environmental balance. He said this indicated the commitment of the private sector to social responsibility and positive interaction with the local community and meetings its needs.
The Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture to expand the scope of partnership in the afforestation plan in the coming stage, by encouraging community contributions and individual volunteers and presenting initiatives that increase the rate of annual output and green spaces.
On his part, Wael bin Nasser Al Mubarak, the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture said that meeting the target of the afforestation plan for the second consecutive year demonstrated the keenness of the kingdom on maintaining climate security, in line with the comprehensive development process led by His Majesty the Kingdom and followed up by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
He highlighted the support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for the plan, which targets doubling the numbers of trees in Bahrain by 2035, as part of Bahrain’s environmental commitments announced at Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
The minister thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for attending the ceremony, and for supporting the afforestation plan through the ministerial committee for development and infrastructure projects. He said this motivated the ministry to continue its efforts to consolidate coordination with all partners and to continue delivering achievements.
The minister thanked all government organisations under Team Bahrain which worked to achieve this goal, the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD), the Capital Municipal Council, municipal councils, civil society organisations and private sector companies for contributing to this effort.
The Deputy Minister honoured representatives of companies supporting the afforestation plan.
He also took part in planting and watering the last tree planted as part of the plan’s initiatives for the year 2023.
The completion of the goals of the plan for 2023 brings the numbers of trees planted over the last two years in all areas of Bahrain to 310,000 trees.
The plan also includes planting mangrove trees. The annual target for mangrove trees has been increased to 460,000 in the second phase.
Until the end of last November, 749,000 mangrove trees have been planted, which is 163% higher than the annual target.
