Hanoi's 'One Million Trees' Programme — Municipal Street-Tree Drive, 2016–2020

In 2016, Hanoi's People's Committee, then chaired by Nguyễn Đức Chung, set a target of one million new street and park trees by 2020 to cut air pollution, noise and heat and to replace ageing, disease-prone street trees, many of which had fallen during storms.
New species — including jacaranda, Madagascar almond, date palm and maple — were planted along major streets such as Láng, Hoàng Diệu, Võ Chí Công, Văn Cao and Hoàng Quốc Việt. The one-million target was declared met in December 2018, two years ahead of schedule.
By the end of the five-year period (2016–2020), the city reported over 1.6 million trees planted in total — about 60% above the original target — including roughly 600,000 in 2019–2020 alone. City officials stated the planting rate was 40–50 times higher than in prior years, and cited reduced noise and improved microclimate along planted corridors.
In 2020, Vietnamese authorities opened a corruption investigation into irregularities in tree-planting and related public-works procurement contracts linked to the programme; Nguyễn Đức Chung was later removed from office and prosecuted on separate corruption charges, and local commentary has since questioned the motives behind aspects of the campaign. The episode is a reminder that an ambitious planting count does not by itself demonstrate sound programme governance.

Read the full analysis: https://saigoneer.com/hanoi-news/22563-over-a-3-year-period,-hanoi-planted-1m-trees,-official