Muscat: Several trees were planted, and awareness programmes were launched to mark Omani Tree Day, which falls on October 31.
Tree Day comes as a reminder to ensure afforestation, fight desertification, reduce land degradation, and preserve wild plants through the multiplication and expansion of green spaces.
Schools celebrated the day through awareness programmes and involving students in tree plantations.
The cultivated area in the Sultanate of Oman witnessed an increase in 2021 over 2020. The tree is a symbol of giving, growth and goodness. The country has 277,000 feddans of cultivated land, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Agricultural crops rank highest with 111,000 feddans of perennial fodder crops followed by 80,000 fruits and 66,000 vegetables.
Omani Tree Day calls for reforestation in the Sultanate of Oman for environmental, economic and cultural growth and protection of wild plants, which are a great source of food and pharmaceutical industries. They also support the lives of many living creatures and maintain the balance of the ecosystems.
By developing gardens and parks, the Muscat Municipality keeps in mind the factors like afforestation and saving the land from degradation. The projects take care of several factors, including projects that are sustainable; reduce water consumption and reduce future maintenance burdens. The projects ensure that the selected plants are compatible with the environment in the Governorate of Muscat.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning signed an agreement with the Environment Authority to raise awareness about the global trends of sustainability, improving the urban landscape in the cities, enhancing the interaction with the city residents, reducing the intensity of cement blocks in cities, and increasing the per capita share of green spaces.
The Environment Department in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate implemented the third phase of a project to make an inventory and document perennial wild trees in Nizwa's green mountains. In cooperation with the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) it also planted wild seedlings in the Nizwa Industrial Area.
On Tree Day, members of the 'Green Adam' organised a campaign to plant 800 seedlings in the health corridor in the Wilayat on Adam-Sinaw Road and Al Fulaij area under the 'Plant a tree today' slogan. The campaign was organised in cooperation with parents and charitable teams.
The 'Space Team' organised a camp to plant 56 seedlings of agricultural plants in the Fulaij area behind the Bani Shayban council, where the team planted seedlings, built a brick fence, installed a tank and made water connections for each tree.
Naim bin Ibrahim al Shaibani, the project supervisor, said: "We planted trees in an orderly manner and in uniform sizes so that they provide an aesthetic view and shade to citizens. The trees selected are heritage trees such as Sidr, Ghaf, Shua, Sherish, Hambu, and palm of Mariam, which withstand extreme heat and climatic conditions in the state."
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