TEHRAN – With the public participation, more than 33,000 saplings will be planted in Sorkhe Hesar National Park, east of Tehran.

Kicked off on Saturday, the initiative is in line with the national plan to plant up to one billion trees across the country to combat desertification, Mehr news agency reported.

Co-organized by Tehran Municipality and the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization, the effort aims to enhance green spaces per capita in the city, and promote public participation in planting trees, assumed well as playing their roles in preserving the environment.

Covering an area of 9,200 hectares, Sorkhe Hesar National Park is managed and protected by the Department of Environment (DOE).

The national plan to plant one billion trees across the country to combat desertification and restore forests commenced on December 2, 2023.

The plan is going to be carried out over the course of four years. Planting some 250 million seedlings was targeted in the first year of the plan, IRIB reported.

Preventing the destruction of pastures by cultivating drought-resistant plants is one of the priorities of the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO).

“The implementation of this plan is divided into three parts. Government organizations, industries, and public institutions will be each responsible for one part of the plan,” Abbas-Ali Nobakht, the former head of the FRWMO, said.

The Organization is determined to produce and plant one billion saplings with the participation of people benefiting from capacities that exist in the country, Nobakht said.

“Considering the climatic conditions of the country, low per capita green space, and the fact that Iran is among the countries with low forestation rate, we are obliged to produce and plant one billion saplings in a four-year period.”

The expansion of the country’s green space and paying more attention to natural resources and the environment is not a new issue, he said, adding that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the President, and the Minister of Agriculture have always emphasized the need to promote the issue of tree planting and sapling planting.

‘Tree planting shows foresight for future generations’

In March 2025, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said planting trees is a beneficial act that highlights the nation’s foresight for creating wealth for future generations.

All people should participate in planting trees as a good and righteous act so that with the increase of trees, the living environment will be refreshed and clean, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

The Leader made the remarks while planting tree saplings to mark the National Tree Planting Day, which is marked each year on March 5.

“Planting trees is not only related to young people. All people of different ages should find enthusiasm and motivation towards this important, necessary, and beautiful work.”

President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei planted trees to mark the National Tree Planting Day.

MT/MG