50,000 olive seedlings will be planted in an area of 16 million square feet as a part of the “Lowering the carbon emission of Gaziantep through trees” project carried out by the Gaziantep Municipality Agricultural Services Directorate. The seedlings are starting to be distributed to 200 growers.
As the population and the number of vehicles increased in Gaziantep, so did the energy consumption and consequently carbon emission in the city. As a countermeasure, the municipality has developed this project with the support of the government and relevant ministries.
The project is worth 275,000 USD and is financed by European Union. It will be carried out in 9 towns of the city. Before the planting, the fields has been analyzed and checked for compatibility. The planting process is planned to be finished in 10 days and these seedlings remain green throughout the whole year. This way they continue the process of photosynthesis all year around to lower the carbon emission rate in the air.
Another additional benefit of these olive trees will be the prevention of land and wind erosion. Furthermore olive and olive oil will produced and sold to generate income for the growers. Moreover sunlight powered irrigation systems will be set up to cut down on energy costs.
Source: Hurriyet