Effort to make the country green

A vast tree planting effort to turn this vast semi-arid land locked country lush green got underway on Sunday, PANA reported. "Operation Green Mali", which will cover all eight regions of the country, will continue through end August. So far, residents of the regions of Sikasso, Timbuktu and Koulikoro have begun planting under the supervision of local specialised services. Village associations in the region of Timbuktu, 1,000 km north of Bamako, showing the greatest enthusiasm for the effort have been paid 600,000 CFA francs (about US $1,000) as further encouragement. Similar measures have been taken in the district of Kati, in the Koulikoro region, Segou, respectively 70 km and 240 km northeast of Bamako, the Malian capital. Government has launched the effort, PANA said, to raise public awareness and ensure a continued fight against desertification. Just 6 percent of Mali's 1.22 million sq km of land is forest or woodland.