A Lunar New Year (Tet) tree planting festival was launched in the northern province of Ninh Binh on January 23 with about 30,200 seedlings grown in Nho Quan district.

The seedlings included 30,000 Acacia hybrid and 200 Hopea odorata trees, forming part of a national wildlife park scheduled to open later this year.

At the launching ceremony, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen called upon those from all walks of life to join efforts towards reforestation and forest protection.

Ninh Binh province plants over 200 hectares of forests every year, raising its forest coverage to 19 percent last year. The rate is expected to increase to 20 percent by the end of 2015.

The Tet tree planting festival is an annual activity initiated by late President Ho Chi Minh in 1959.-VNA