The One Million Trees Programme in Moscow, Russia

In 2013, the One Million Trees programme was launched with the intention of bringing more greenery to Moscow’s citizens. As of now, Moscow ranks among the greenest cities worldwide, with 54% public green space. The project was initiated to plant individual trees in gardens, streets, and inner yards of apartment buildings. Unique about the One Million Trees programme is the bottom-up approach used in the implementation: planting locations and species are chosen by local residents via a digital app. Gardeners closely manage the trees and shrubs for the first 12 months – the most challenging period of their growth cycle. Since 2013, more than four million trees have been planted. In 2021, Moscow has further pledged its green development under the global “Trees in Cities Challenge” of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The next priorities are adding new trees to public parks and increasing monitoring of urban canopy.