Campaign begins to plant 10,000 wild trees in Dhofar

Muscat: The  Environment Authority (EA) has begun a campaign to plant 10,000 wild trees in Dhofar Governorate.

"Today, the General Directorate of Environment in Dhofar Governorate began implementing a campaign to plant 10,000 wild trees in cooperation with the Municipality of Dhofar and several public, private, and civil sector institutions as part of a project to plant and distribute 60,000 wild trees this year," a statement said.

Hatem bin Salem Al Mahri, head of the Natural Reserves Department in the Directorate, said: "The campaign will today include planting “500” frankincense trees  in Raysut in the Wilayat of Salalah, in addition to planting “9,500” wild trees in the coming period  in the Wilayat of Rakhyut, including "Wild fig,” “aloe vera,” and “sidr.”

Al Mahri added: "The campaign coincided with the plans and programs approved by the Environment Authority for this year to preserve local plants, preserve natural resources, increase vegetation cover in natural and pastoral areas in the Dhofar Governorate, and sustain them in conjunction with the national initiative to plant 10 million trees.

The Governorate of Dhofar is rich in the diversity of natural plants, with an estimated 750 species of wild plants covering the mountain peaks and spreading in the valleys and plains. The Environment Authority is working to take several measures to protect and propagate the wild plants in the governorate through tree nurseries, protected cultivation operations, planting and dispersing seeds in wild areas, and pruning and protecting old trees.