On the eve of the celebration of International Mother Earth Day on April 22, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe awarded the city of Ashgabat with an International Certificate in recognition of the pledge to the Trees in Cities Challenge.
The international Trees in Cities program was launched in 2019 at the Climate Action Summit. The Trees in Cities Challenge invites mayors worldwide to join a movement of change-makers sharing best practices and experience on sustainable urban forestry with peers. By participating in the Challenge – by planting and growing trees – countries make cities more resilient, healthy and livable.
Today over 50 cities from around the world made a pledge to the global challenge including Ashgabat, Aarhus, Almaty, Athienou, Ausburg, Barcelona, Barcarena, Bonn, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Chisinau, Cologne, Ekurhuleni, Fetakgomo Tubatse, Gamagara, Geneva, Greater Taung, Helsingborg, Inkosi Langalibalele, Kfar Saba, Kouga, Lakatamia, Lausanne, Limerick, Lincoln, Linz, Madrid, Malaga, Mannheim, Mexico City, Metsimaholo, Moscow, Nice, Nof Hagali, O.R. Tambo District, Overstrand, Podgorica, Prievidza, Saldanha, Sofia, Steve Tshwete, Turin, Umzimvubu, Vancouver, Victoria, Vilnius, and Yedud Monsoon.
The official recognition of the contribution of the Turkmen capital - Ashgabat - to the above-mentioned large-scale environmental program is eloquent evidence of the long-term effective cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United Nations on environmental protection, biodiversity and environmental safety issues.
The nationwide tree-planting campaign, held in March this year with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, clearly confirms Turkmenistan's commitment to fulfilling its international ecology obligations.
In accordance with the National Forest Program, Turkmenistan is conducting systematic work in this area at the country level. Over the years, more than 145 million tree seedlings have been planted in the country, which has led to the formation of special climatic zones.
