Planting 1.3 Million Trees by March on Area Equivalent to 60 Soccer Fields... Targeting 470,000 Trees This Year... Displaying Planting Quantity, Achievement Rate, and Fine Dust Reduction, Shared with Residents
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) has installed a project status board on the first floor of the district office building to share information about the 5 Million Trees Planting Project, one of the district’s key initiatives, and to encourage continuous interest from residents.
The "5 Million Trees Planting" project is Mapo-gu’s representative greening initiative, launched in July last year as the first single local government to undertake such a project, aiming to transform the entire district into a green city.
The goal is to plant 5 million trees throughout the district to reduce fine dust, mitigate urban heat island effects, and improve residents’ quality of life.
As of March 30, through active cooperation with the public, private sectors, and corporations, the district has planted 1.3 million trees (26% of the target) over a total area of 430,000㎡, equivalent to 60 soccer fields. Of these, approximately 750,000 trees were planted in public areas and about 550,000 in private areas.
The district plans to plant about 470,000 trees this year alone and reach a total of 5 million trees by 2027.
To allow residents to easily grasp the progress of the tree planting project, the district recently installed a status board in the lobby on the first floor of the district office building.
The status board provides residents with information such as the number of trees planted so far, the achievement rate against the 5 million tree goal, and the amount of fine dust and carbon reduction provided by the planted trees.
Mapo-gu’s tree planting project is being carried out in four areas: community tree planting, expansion of street greenery, expansion of park and green spaces in residential areas, and tree planting in the private sector.
In particular, to protect youth sensitive to fine dust, school forests have been established at all schools within Mapo-gu. Various distinctive projects are underway, including greening apartment side walls, creating mobile parks, establishing green shade forests, and distributing companion trees for fine dust reduction to households.
The district expects that about 500,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created in the process of creating and maintaining air-purifying forests.
The 5 million trees targeted by Mapo-gu are evaluated to have the effect of purifying the fine dust emitted by 16,000 old diesel vehicles in one year, reducing heat emitted by 4 million air conditioners (15-pyeong size) operating for 5 hours, and supplying oxygen for 3.5 million adults to breathe for one year.
Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun of Mapo-gu said, “Planting trees is planting the future,” and added, “Through this project, we will expand the public benefits of trees such as fine dust reduction, improvement of urban aesthetics, and mitigation of heat island effects, and make this a nationwide exemplary project.”
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