Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà plants a tree during the launching ceremony of the New Year Tree Planting Festival in Hà Nội on Sunday. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has built a digital tree map in Việt Nam to serve the identification of planting sites as well as management and taking care of trees throughout the country.

The map’s database, including information about tree species, planting process and characteristics of trees during the growing process, was expected to improve the efficiency of managing and taking care of trees nationwide, said Minister Trần Hồng Hà at a launching ceremony of the New Year Tree Planting Festival and responding to the Government’s programme of planting 1 billion trees during 2021-25, held in Hà Nội on Sunday.

More than 60 years ago, President Hồ Chí Minh wrote an article which was published in Nhân dân (The People) newspaper, stressing the significance of tree planting to each person, each family and the entire nation. It has since become an annual Vietnamese custom each Lunar New Year.

Hà said the database would be put on the App store as an application soon after it is finished.

The application would help State-management agencies assess the current distribution of green trees, monitor the trees’ growing process and connect tree providers and growers, he said.

Besides, the digital map would also assist the agencies to identify areas in need of ecosystem restoration, prevention of salinity intrusion and anti-desertification.

Therefore, Hà called upon every individual and organisation in the country to participate in the festival and the programme.

He said he expected all Vietnamese people to help in planting and protecting trees. It aimed to express the commitment and responsibility of protecting the environment and adapting to climate change from today’s generation to the next generations.

Under the directive No 45/CT-Ttg on implementing the New Year Tree Planting Festival and improving forest protection and development, the country will plant 1 billion trees during 2021-25, of which, nearly 700 million trees will be planted in urban and rural areas and more than 300 million trees will be planted in the forest. In 2021, the country will plant about 182 million trees.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chu Ngọc Anh chairman of the People’s Committee of Hà Nội ordered districts and towns of the city to disseminate information to local residents about the importance of planting and protecting trees.

Additionally, each household was encouraged to plant trees and flowers to make Hà Nội a city with four seasons of blooming flowers, he said.

It targeted that the city would plant over 300,000 trees this year and each resident would plant one tree by 2030, he said. — VNS