President of the Republic kicks off project to relaunch green dam in Djelfa

In the region of El Maalba (municipality of Djelfa), the President of the Republic inspected the launch of the first phase of the project, providing for the reforestation of 400,000 hectares between now and 2026.

As part of this project, various species of trees have been planted in this region over an area of 70 hectares.

The reforestation operation, supervised by President Tebboune, who participated symbolically by planting a tree, mobilized members of the region’s Forestry Department, Algerian Muslim scouts and representatives of civil society.

The project aims to increase the dam’s area from 3.7 to 4.7 million hectares across 13 provinces, 183 municipalities and 1,200 towns in the steppic zones.

An area of one million hectares will be reforested with different species of trees, particularly fruit trees, which have a high economic value and are more resistant to the steppe climate.

From east to west, the green dam covers the provinces of Naâma, El Bayadh, Laghouat, Djelfa, Médéa, Bouira, M’sila, Batna, Khenchela, Tébessa, Sétif, Bordj Bou Arreridj and Biskra. More than 7 million people will benefit from this project.

The implementation of the green dam project as part of the new approach is being carried out by the forest conservations, the agricultural services departments of the provinces concerned and the High Commission for the Development of the Steppe (HCDS). Work will be spread over a period of seven years.

At the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 30 August 2020, the President of the Republic stressed the need to relaunch the green dam project with the contribution and active participation of all the parties concerned, in particular civil society.

Earlier in the day, President Tebboune had begun a working and inspection visit to the province of Djelfa to inaugurate and inspect several large-scale development projects.