At the tree-planting festival (Photo: VNA) Phu Tho (VNA) – Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh launched a tree-planting festival at the Hung Kings special national historical relic site in the northern midland province of Phu Tho on January 30 or the sixth day of the first lunar month.
The event also saw the presence of Chairman of the Presidential Office Dao Viet Trung, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Phung Khanh Tai, and local leaders and people.
In her remarks, Thinh said planting trees on the occasion of Tet (Lunar New Year) has become a beautiful practice of Vietnamese people over the past six decades since President Ho Chi Minh initiated the campaign, which has contributed to environmental protection, socio-economic development, and national defence and security.
She called on all people to engage in tree planting and take specific measures to protect forests.
According to Vui Van Quang, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Phu Tho aims to plant more than 10,000 ha of concentrated forests in 2020, while stepping up forest protection.
The province will also apply scientific advances to improve productivity and quality of the forestry sector, and ensure green, sustainable growth.
On November 28, 1959, President Ho Chi Minh wrote an article which was published on Nhan dan (People) newspaper, stressing the significance of tree planting to each person, each family and the entire nation.
Since then, the tree planting festival has become a practice whenever a new year comes. Tree planting and afforestation activities have been conducted in a widespread and effective manner and greatly helped with environmental protection and socio-economic development in Vietnam.
In accordance with the Target Programme on Sustainable Forestry Development for 2016-2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development targets raising forestry production value by 6-6.5 percent, increasing forest coverage to 42 percent and forestry export to 10 billion USD by 2020, contributing to mitigating natural disasters and reducing poverty in combination with new-style rural development and ensuring national defence-security./.
VNA
