GAM planted 25,000 trees in 2019 — official

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) planted around 25,000 trees in 2019, compared with 23,000 in 2018, a municipality statement cited a GAM official as saying on Saturday.

Head of GAM's agriculture department Muein Zreigat said that 60 per cent of the trees were planted in the south and east of the capital; Muqablein, Ras Al Ain, Al Naser, Marka and Basman areas in particular, according to the statement. 

The trees were planted in accordance with agreements signed with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Al Wadi organisation and the GIZ, Zreigat said. 

In 2019, GAM and its agricultural cadres worked to rehabilitate main roads, intersections and capital entrances as part of the 2018-2020 strategy, the statement noted.

As part of its strategy for the health and agricultural sectors, GAM aims at rehabilitating and developing 70 parks, 25 intersections and 99 streets in Amman with greenery, while also providing safe areas for children in the various parks around Amman. 

The municipality highlighted the importance of citizens' role in maintaining the parks, which it said were built for the public good. 

Last year, GAM and the Ministry of Agriculture, with the support of the World Bank, also launched the Amman Plan to combat the effects of climate change, which aims at increasing the capital's resilience in facing climate-related challenges, the statement said.