KRG initiates campaign to plant one million oak trees in Erbil

ERBIL, November 13 — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) revealed on Sunday it was ready to initiate a campaign to plant one million oak trees in Erbil governorate.

The initiative, spanning five years, aims to utilize native seeds from mountains in the region. Oak forests, some as old as two-thousand years, are crucial for fighting climate change and serving as habitats for fauna in the area.

A statement from the KRG’s Department of Media and Information said:

The Kurdistan Regional Government has successfully fulfilled the requirements for implementing the one million oak tree planting project along a 120-meter stretch in Erbil within five years, with 300,000 trees of this kind already planted.

The project supervisor, Gashbin Idris, stated to the Department of Media and Information: ‘The Kurdistan Regional Government, through the Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism, will support and oversee the entire implementation process of the project.’

Engineer Mohammed Yousif, the project engineer, noted, ‘Tree seeds are sourced from the mountains of Kurdistan, planted, and carefully nurtured to withstand heat and drought.’

He added, ‘The trees will be irrigated using a system of recycled and treated wastewater, in addition to utilizing solar energy to generate the required electricity.’

Shaymaa Framerz, an engineer on the project, stated, ‘With this advanced system, we can produce 300 to 340 cubic meters of irrigation water daily.’

Oak trees are known for their high capacity to purify water and air, as well as maintaining soil strength due to their deep roots.

These trees themselves become an important food source for birds, contributing to their recovery and sustainability.

Oak trees, in general, are ancient, with some species living from 500 to 2.000 years.

It is worth noting that the Kurdistan Regional Government is making significant efforts to protect the environment and combat climate change. Earlier, Abdul Rahman Sadeq, the head of the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Authority in the Kurdistan Regional Government, stated, ‘The Kurdistan Region has taken seven important steps in the past to combat climate change, according to international standards, surpassing measures taken by the federal government of Iraq in this regard.’