Italy helping with afforestation

A delegation from the Italian Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry paid a visit to Malta to discuss the status of bilateral cooperation on afforestation programmes with the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

The Italian government has been donating indigenous trees raised in Italy to be planted as part of the Foresta 2000 afforestation project around Mellieha.

Some 2,000 trees were planted in 2004, another 3,000 in 2005 and 3,000 more will be delivered in November.

The Italian government is offering the use of the highly developed nursery systems of its Corpo Forestale dello Stato, so that seeds from Maltese endemic trees are sent for propagation and future planting in Malta, thus ensuring the conservation of the local genetic pool.

The Italian Embassy yesterday reiterated the interest of the Italian government in continuing the technical cooperation to meet the targets of the afforestation project.