Mongolia on Monday started organizing a national conference on forestry for the first time to explore ways to combat desertification, reduce land degradation, and plant more trees .Some 800 relevant officials, experts, scholars and researchers across the country are participating in the conference virtually or in person.

The week-long conference is being held under the auspices of Mongolian President U.Khurelsukh, who has recently initiated a national tree-planting campaign to combat climate change and desertification.

The participants are expected to discuss and exchange their views on afforestation and reforestation, desertification and land degradation, the development of agro-forestry, and public-private partnership in this area.

Mongolia has a total land area of 1,564,116 square kilometers but only 7.9 percent is covered by forests. Around 77 percent of the country’s total territory has been affected by desertification and land degradation, according to the country’s ministry of environment and tourism.