Government to Spend HUF 60 Billion on More Trees, Greening

The Hungarian government will allocate nearly HUF 60 billion (EUR 165 million) over the coming years to the National Afforestation and Urban Greening Program, the minister for the living environment, László Gajdos, said on social media on Saturday.

Under the program, 12 million saplings will be planted, at least 1,320 hectares of new state-owned forest will be established, and four million saplings will be used for afforestation along approximately 20,000 kilometers of canal banks, the minister pointed out.

He added that HUF 39.6 billion will be allocated to the greening of settlements, and that measures necessary for the prevention of forest fires will also be carried out.

"We are not only increasing the area of our forests, but also focusing on preserving and improving their natural state. For this very reason, we are gradually expanding the proportion of forests managed under the 'perpetual forest' system," László Gajdos said in his post.

In September, the living environment ministry stated that the previous government had planted only one million trees annually between 2020 and 2026.

Speaking at a press event on Tuesday, Gajdos said that 300,000 cubic meters less timber would be harvested from Hungarian forests this year than originally planned, and that this reduction could reach one million cubic meters next year. He added that, rather than relying on clear-cutting, forest management should focus on ecological approaches and biodiversity. Moreover, while harvesting for industrial purposes must be reconsidered, applying a gradualist approach, it remained essential to meet the demand for firewood and district heating, he added.