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Thousands of trees will be planted in the Northwest Economic Zone in the coming period. A press conference on the tree planting was held on site on the 6th of February 2024.
“Debrecen has recently embarked on a very significant economic development process. Debrecen is one of the most successful cities in Hungary, and BMW is a huge success story not only for the country but also for Debrecen. We believe that it is possible to develop the economy in a sustainable way, by paying maximum attention to our environment. That is why we launched a new environmental policy in 2019,” Mayor of Debrecen László Papp said.
The mayor stressed that the Northwest Economic Belt must fit into the city, so the environment surrounding the industrial area will be greened. “In line with this promise, we launched a few weeks ago the afforestation process that will create a green corridor around the Northwest Economic Zone. Under this programme, we will plant 3,000 trees and more than 50,000 shrubs in this zone, which includes Józsa, Kismacs and Nagymacs,” he said. He noted that in the first phase, 788 trees (lime, elm, ash, oak) and 5,000 shrubs will be planted around the factory and the rest in the next two years.
Deputy Mayor of Debrecen Ákos Balázs reminded that two weeks ago the city’s Green Codex was adopted, which was prepared together with the University of Debrecen and the members of the Green Working Group, and is currently Hungary’s most significant urban greening programme. Together with the previous and current tree planting, as well as the “Plant 10,000 trees in Debrecen” programme, they will nearly triple the promised 10,000 trees, to 28,000 trees. The deputy mayor stressed that in the future, another 10,000 trees, including fruit trees, will be planted and green corridors will be created.
The 28,000 trees that will be planted in these two programmes will sequester about 5,000 tonnes of CO2 and 1,200 tonnes of dust per year, provide 90 hectares of shade and improve the feeling of warmth by 6-8 degrees in the summer heat, Ákos Balázs stressed.
More than 50,000 votes have already been cast for the measures of the Green Codex, of which more than 8,700 were for afforestation and tree protection programmes.
Erzsébet Katona, local representative, said that the population is always happy to join the tree planting. She stressed that it is important for local people that the environment is not only liveable, but also extremely beautiful.
Hans Peter Kemser, Director of the BMW Group Plant Debrecen, stressed that environmental protection is very important to them, and so far 350 trees have been planted, with more to follow as spring approaches. He added that they were not only doing something for the environment by planting trees, as they were also setting up a solar park on a 44-hectare site. Nature and manufacturing can go hand in hand, he pointed out.
Source: debrecen.hu
