ÊLVÎN MIHEMED

Kobanê- The Ecology Board in the Euphrates Canton of North and East Syria launched a tree planting campaign on March 4, 2025 to increase the green spaces in Kobanê. The campaign will continue until April 4, the birthday of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The board annually launches a tree planting campaign with the support of the civil society organizations and people.

Different fruit trees

The members of the board first determined the trees that can grow in the region and then collected seeds and seedlings from February 9 to March 1. “The Baathist regime did not care about ecology when it controlled the region; there were few species of trees,” Almaz Romî, Co-chair of the board, told NuJINHA. “As the Ecology Board, we have planted many species of trees and different fruit trees.”

3,600 trees planted

The board annually launches this campaign to mark the birthday of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. “Every year, we plant trees on April 4 because Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan attaches great importance to nature,” said Almaz Romî. “On International Women’s Day, March 8, we planted 100 trees in the Minazê village of Kobanê. We had planned to plant 10,000 trees on the Mishtenur hill; however, we could plant only 3,600 trees due to the ongoing Turkish attacks on the region.”

The Ecology Board also provides ecological and environmental education to children in schools to “raising awareness of nature conservation among children.”