ULAN BATOR, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has planted a total of 114.6 million trees across the country since the launch of its national tree-planting campaign in 2021, according to the forestry department of the Mongolian government on Friday.
The national campaign to plant at least 1 billion trees by 2030 was officially launched in October 2021, when Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh addressed the UN General Assembly, declaring his country's goal to combat desertification and climate change.
Environmental experts noted that Mongolia is among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Due to its geographical location, natural disasters associated with global climate change are increasing year by year, including forest and steppe fires, as well as desertification, land degradation and yellow dust storms.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, only 7.9 percent of Mongolia is forested, while approximately 77 percent of the country's total land area is now affected by desertification and degradation. ■