Launched to block yellow dust, Incheon's tree-planting campaign in Mongolia has, after about 20 years, established itself as a city environmental cooperation model drawing global attention.
Incheon said on the 11th that it plans to share the outcomes of the "Incheon forest of hope" project with the international community at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to be held in Mongolia this year.
The UNCCD is the United Nations' leading international environmental convention to address desertification, land degradation, and drought. At this conference, Incheon will present how the project evolved from voluntary citizen participation into a long-term cooperation effort among local governments, along with afforestation results and a sustainable operation model that involves local residents and future generations.
The "Incheon forest of hope" project began in 2008 with voluntary participation by Incheon residents. At the time, civil society groups including the Incheon roundtable and the YMCA raised 335 million won to reduce Mongolia's desertification and the yellow dust flowing into Incheon. Based on this fund, 52,000 trees were planted in Mongolia's Bayannuur and Songin regions by 2010.
It later developed into a public-private partnership involving Incheon and civil society. In phase one, carried out from 2013 to 2017, 6,300 trees were planted across 45 ha in the Dashinchilegiin sum area of Mongolia.
In 2018, Incheon signed an agreement with the Ulaanbaatar City Department of Environment and launched phase two. It is a long-term project to create a 100 ha forest in the Songinokhairkhan District of Ulaanbaatar by 2027.
To date, forests established through the "Incheon forest of hope" total 157 ha, an area roughly equal to about 220 soccer fields. The number of trees planted exceeds 250,000.
Mongolia is one of the main sources of yellow dust in Northeast Asia. If desertification and land degradation worsen, the impact crosses borders and affects the air environment of Korea. In particular, Incheon, located on the west coast, is relatively the first to feel the effects of transboundary air pollution such as yellow dust and fine particulate matter.
Restoring Mongolia's degraded land is not merely an overseas tree-planting aid project; Incheon views it as a proactive climate response investment that expands carbon sinks and protects the environment of Incheon and Northeast Asia together.
Following its introduction as a best practice in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) international assessment on fine particulate matter, the "Incheon forest of hope" was recognized in 2025 as a case of sustainable urban development by the international community. Sharing outcomes at this year's UNCCD Conference of the Parties is expected to serve as a springboard to spread Incheon's experience as an international environmental cooperation model that other cities and countries can use.
At the conference, Incheon plans to highlight not only the afforestation experience and outcomes accumulated over 19 years, but also the project's operating approach that combines citizen participation, role-sharing with local governments on the ground, building self-reliance through nurseries and wells, and youth environmental education.
Yun Eun-ju, head of Incheon's environment and safety division, said, "The Incheon forest of hope is a meaningful project in which a single tree planted by citizens became a city policy and grew into international environmental cooperation between two countries," adding, "We will share the experience and outcomes accumulated over 19 years with the world at the UNCCD Conference of the Parties and present new possibilities for intercity cooperation in responding to the climate crisis."