‎Wallonia to plant 4,000km of hedgerows and a million trees by 2024‎

The Walloon government's project "Yes We plant", launched in April to improve the region’s ecological robustness and protect biodiversity, has received pledges from the agricultural sector and the general public to plant more than 1,000km of hedges and 500,000 trees, of which more than 300km have already been planted, according to a statement from the Minister of the Environment, Céline Tellier, on Tuesday.

A call for further commitments from farmers was launched at the Battice Agricultural Fair last weekend. "In one weekend, farmers and the general public announced that they wanted to plant 257km of additional hedgerows," said the minister.

In total, the commitments to planting have now reached more than 800km and some 339,000 trees, in addition to the 333km and 189,030 trees already planted.

"The planting season has not yet started, and these encouraging figures show how this project is a sensible response to the biodiversity crisis and the floods that Wallonia has experienced," added Céline Tellier. "Extreme weather events are likely to become our new normal. This is why it is necessary to adapt with this type of project which can make our territory more resilient."

With a target of planting 1m trees, and 4,000km of hedgerows by 2024, and a total budget of more than €10 m over the entire legislature, the objective of the "Yes We Plant" programme this year aims to mobilise the agricultural sector in particular.