AKIPRESS.COM - Tashkent and its surrounding areas will receive at least 58,000 hectares of intensive protective forest plantations by 2045 under the Green Belt project, Kun.uz reported with reference to the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change.

The initiative also calls for planting at least 50 million climate-adapted and drought-resistant trees and shrubs with a high capacity to trap dust. The project aims to achieve a survival rate of no less than 85% for the newly planted vegetation.

The Committee noted that international experience shows green belts are not one-time tree-planting campaigns but long-term ecological infrastructure supported by a clear legal framework, stable financing, maintenance, irrigation, monitoring, and public oversight.

"Such an approach has been successfully implemented in the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and Kazakhstan," the Committee said.

Alongside tree planting, the project includes measures to strengthen the legal protection of land designated for green areas, prevent its unjustified conversion for construction and other purposes, improve the survival rate of trees and shrubs, introduce water-saving irrigation systems, and ensure continuous monitoring of air quality and the condition of green spaces.

Particular attention will also be paid to preserving naturally growing trees and shrubs along roads.