President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday launched ‘Rah Fehi’ programme, loosely translated to ‘Island Green’, unveiling a much-heralded plan for a green environment in Maldives.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom also took part in the conference regarding the ‘100 days’ pledges made by President Solih, with Cabinet Ministers and Government officials, at the second phase of the reclaimed suburbs of Hulhumale’.

The purpose of the government’s tree planting programme is to reduce the impact of climate change and to educate the people of Maldives by teaching them the methods of planting trees. Further, the programme aims to minimize deforestation and to identify new species of plant life found in Maldives.

In his speech, President Solih stated that the main cause of the programme was to address the environmental issues after the previous regime faced heavy criticisms by the public because of the large-scale deforestation that has been taking place over different islands.

As a result, the President claimed that he has requested the reformation of the regulation on Environment Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives to the Attorney General’s Office.

According to the President, an indefinite solution to uprooting of trees and deforestation can only be found after the reformation of existing environmental laws of the country. In addition, the President also highlighted the importance of giving freedom to the current environment agencies operating in Maldives.

The State Minister of the Environment Ministry Dr. Abdulla Naseer declared that plants do not exist on 50 percent of the islands in Maldives, thus giving an incentive for the continuation of the Government programme.

The ‘Island Green’ project will contribute to plant more than 4,000 trees across different islands. Some 250 trees have been already planted on the first day of the project.