Finnish energy company ST1 and the Natural Resources Institute Finland have implemented an experimental afforestation project in the Sahara. Initial results are cautiously promising.

"Thanks to irrigation, the trees have grown and sequestered carbon relatively well, although conditions are challenging. Without irrigation, a large portion of the trees would not be able to survive," is how Anniina Lampinen (Anniina Lampinen), the project manager, described the preliminary results of the Finnish energy company ST1's project in an interview.

In October 2018, ST1 announced its idea (plan) to afforest part of the Sahara, gaining significant publicity. The project's goal was to combat climate change, as afforestation increases carbon sequestration. ST1 planned to plant 16,000 seedlings purchased in Morocco across a four-hectare area in Ben Guerir, Rehamna Province. Forestry expertise for the project was provided by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The institute's researcher, Professor Hannu Ilvesniemi (Hannu Ilvesniemi), explains that about 5,000 trees were planted across two 2-hectare sample plots. Cooperation with the locals has been successful. "The goal was to carry out more extensive afforestation, which the C19 outbreak did not allow," says H. Ilvesniemi.