Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. On June 21, President U. Khurelsukh got
acquainted with the operation of ‘Erdenet Mining Corporation’ state-owned
enterprise and attended the opening ceremony of the first Forest Genetic
Resources Center in Mongolia.

The ‘Erdenet’ Center for Forest Genetic Resources has a
storage with capacity of 1,000 tons of seeds and will function to create a seed
pool of endangered, beneficial and woody plants, preserve and protect forest
genetic resources, conduct experiments and research, and put planted forest
resources into economic circulation.

The President emphasized that the commissioning of the
center has laid the foundation for the implementation of the ‘One Billion Trees’
national movement on a scientific basis. He congratulated the Erdenet Mining
Corporation on its planning to establish of a production, research and
innovation complex that will conduct all tree-planting activities, and the
commissioning of Forest Genetic Resources Center.

Within the framework of the ‘One Billion Trees’ national
movement initiated by the President of Mongolia, the EMC has promised to plant
and grow 100 million trees in the next decade. In this frame, it is planned to
establish the ‘Erdenet’ Forest Innovation Park, which will carry out a
comprehensive science-based operation for planting and growing trees.

The ‘Erdenet’ Forest Innovation Park will consist of the
Forest Genetic Resources Center with a 1,000-ton seed, biotechnology and
quarantine laboratory, a soil biotechnology center for preparing 500 cubic
meter fertile soil a year, and a world-class fully automated tree nursery with
a capacity of 10 million seedlings per year.

The ‘Erdenet’ Center for Forest Genetic Resources, which was
put into operation on June 21, consists of a seed laboratory, a biotechnology
laboratory, a quarantine laboratory, and a storage for seeds, twigs, seedlings and
saplings, a reception section, a deep freezing section, as well as a training
and meeting room.

The center will be open to the public, supply seeds,
seedlings and saplings, and organize a series of trainings on planting trees to
support ecological education.

“In addition, the center aims to create a natural plant seed
pool in the future and will play a special role in preserving the seeds of many
endangered plants growing in Mongolia,” said Ya.Ariunzul, head of the Green
Development Project Unit of EMC.

During the event, the Minister of Environment and Tourism
B.Bat-Erdene handed over a Certificate of the Professional Forestry
Organization to the EMC.