Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abdel Hamid Aldabaiba, approved yesterday the Green Libya Initiative to plant 100 million trees in various Libyan regions, under the supervision of the Executive Team for the PM’s Initiatives and Strategic Projects, and in partnership with local institutions and foreign oil companies.
The foreign oil companies operating in Libya and supporting the initiative are: Equinor, Halliburton Wintershall, Tatneft, Oilinvest, Tamoil, Gazprom, OMV, ENI, Repsol, BP and Suncor.
The Tripoli Libyan government reported that the initiative aims to enhance vegetation cover, combat desertification and achieve sustainable development by planting more than 10 tree species. Ten percent of the trees will be fruiting trees while the rest will be for afforestation. The tree varieties will include pistachios, paulownia royal, eucalyptus, moringa, olive, pine, carob, eucalyptus, acacia and casuarina. The initiative will be implemented over a total area of 150,000 hectares spread across 60 sites across the country.
The initiative also focuses on improving air quality, combating climate change, and enhancing biodiversity, while using land sustainably and integrating it into long-term development projects.
During the launch ceremony, Aldabaiba signed the document establishing the Libya Green Fund, which aims to support and sustain the initiative through its various stages.
The stages of work begin with planning and environmental survey to select sites, then planting trees, followed by follow-up and maintenance to ensure the success of the project.
In his initiative launch speech, Aldabaiba stressed that this initiative comes within the framework of his government’s policy to promote afforestation and protect the environment, stressing the importance of cooperation between local institutions and foreign companies to achieve the ambitious goals of the initiative.
For his part, the executive team of the Prime Minister’s Initiatives and Strategic Projects expressed its full commitment to overseeing the implementation of the initiative, noting that it represents an ambitious national project that reflects the government’s vision to enhance sustainability.
In turn, the Tripoli government reported, representatives of the participating foreign companies praised the importance of the project, stressing their full support to contribute to achieving its environmental and development goals.
The Libya Green Initiative is an outstanding model of partnership between different sectors, and a significant step towards achieving the Sustainable Environmental Development Goals in Libya, the Tripoli government said.
The accreditation ceremony was attended by the Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs, the Acting Ministers of Transport, Education and Planning, the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation, the Chairman of the Executive Team for the President’s Initiatives and Strategic Projects, and the Director General of the National Council for Economic and Social Development.
Ministry of Planning 100-million tree planting initiative announced
It will be recalled that in December 2023, the Ministry of Planning confirmed the development of an integrated strategic plan to plant 100 million trees by 2030.
NOC’s one million trees by 2025 initiative
It will also be recalled that at the COP28 Summit held in Dubai from 30 November – 12 December 2023, Farhat Bengdara, the chairman of Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC), unveiled the NOC’s “Think Tomorrow” initiative.
The aim of the initiative is to achieve a green and sustainable future for Libya by adopting environmentally friendly practices.
These include eradicating gas flaring and waste oil lakes in Libya’s oil and gas fields, making Libya the next solar energy powerhouse by generating renewable energy to supply oil fields with clean energy by harnessing 3,200 hours of sunlight, and increasing green spaces in the oil territories by planting one million trees by 2025, which, Bengdara had said, would absorb 24,000 tons of CO2 annually.
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NOC starts first phase of its campaign to plant a million trees (libyaherald.com)
At COP28, NOC launches ambitious ‘Think Tomorrow’ environmental initiative (libyaherald.com)
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Gharian to plant one million olive trees and 500k almond trees (libyaherald.com)
Libya aims to plant 20 million olive trees through private sector (libyaherald.com)
