Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad Monday asserted keenness on finding effective ways to avoid cutting down trees and accelerating the implementation of the "100 Million Trees" initiative.

The minister highlighted efforts of the ministry to expand the green areas in schools, youth centers and roads.

The minister was addressing a National Dialogue session titled "The 100 Million Trees initiative shared responsibility" which tackled proposals on efforts to expand green areas across the country.

The session is co-organised by the Environment Ministry, the Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE) and the Egyptian Sustainable Development Forum (ESDF) .

The session is meant to outline recommendations prohibiting and criminalizing cutting down trees without legal reasons.

The AOYE is scheduled to plant some 25,000 trees provided by the Ministry of Environment as of July and till December 2024, the head of the office said.

The 100 Million Trees initiative is a joint effort between three governmental entities; the Ministry of Local Development, the Ministry of Environment, and the New Urban Communities Authority.

The initiative is in line with the objectives of the 2022 UN Climate Change Summit, COP27, that took place in Egypt's Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh.

It aims to increase people's access to green spaces across the country, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gases, and increase overall public health.

In addition to planting trees, the initiative aims to establish a total of 6,600 feddans of new forests and public parks in 9,900 locations across Egypt.

It is set to be implemented over seven years, ending in 2029.