A ceremony took place in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, on February 4 to kick off the capital’s greening-up campaign in honour of the late President Ho Chi Minh.

Hanoi leaders join hands to green up the capital city at the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai recalled that 57 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh planted trees at the local Thong Nhat park, since then making the activity a green festival of the entire nation every Spring.

He said Hanoi is leading the country in urbanization and industrialization, which have posed environmental issues.

Hai pointed to the fact that the city’s green coverage is not enough to maintain the balance of the ecology, while poor protection of trees, forest fires, and illegal logging have been recorded.     

He stressed the need of afforestation and planting trees along road sides as well as around office buildings, residential areas, schools, and individual houses.

Educational campaigns to raise public awareness on tree protection are also important, added the municipal leader. 

Hanoi is aiming to grow over 430,000 trees this year and one million trees between 2016 and 2020, according to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

VNA