In addition to forest plantings, the Settlement Afforestation Program announced for the third time this year also contributed to the greening of Hungary’s settlements and the increase of the country’s tree-covered areas, thanks to which 10,000 row trees were available to rural settlements. The initiative was coordinated by the National Forestry Association, forestry specialists helped with the plantings with the active participation of local communities. 443 settlements participated in the program, 136 of them joined for the first time, they explained.
They wrote that the Newborn Forest Program was launched in 2020 with the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture, within the framework of which, according to the commitment made in the Climate and Nature Protection Action Plan, ten or at least one million trees per year will be planted for every child born in Hungary until 2030.
State forestry companies have planted a total of 300 hectares of forest annually until 2022 within the framework of the Newborn Forest Program. This year, the program continued on an additional 150 hectares.
During the program, only native, mixed forests are planted, so the increase in forest areas is ensured by forest stands with high biodiversity and natural value, they added.
In addition, the state forestry companies treated the population’s need for firewood as a priority in 2023, and the goods were available in sufficient quantity and of good quality. In addition, the government provided HUF 5 billion for the Social Fuel Program until mid-February 2024, which provides assistance to needy families living in settlements with less than 5,000 people through the local governments, the AM wrote.
