<span style="color: #222222;">Chief Minister Pema Khandu today launched the statewide tree plantation programme 'Clean-Green Arunachal Campaign 2019' in Itanagar. <br />''<br />''The campaign under the State Forest department will plant 1-lakh tree saplings in the next 24 hours. On the occasion, Mr. Khandu said that the campaign is being held as part of Van Mahotsav celebration and has set the target of planting 1 Crore tree within the next five years.<br />''<br />''Speaking on the biodiversity richness of the state, the Chief Minister said Arunachal is known globally for its huge forest cover and is considered one of the eighteen 'biodiversity hotspots' in the world. <br />''<br />''He said the forest carbon stock in Arunachal comes to 148.52 tonnes per hectare, which is highest in the country and whose value in terms of carbon credit at 6 Euros per tonne works out to 48000 Crore rupees annually. <br />''<br />''Highlighting on the relevance of forest in tribal societies, Mr. Khandu said both are interconnected and culturally bonded where dependence on the forest is vital for tribal people for their everyday needs. <br />''<br />''He called upon the forest department to come up with a vision to preserve this intricate link and to enable the tribal people to reap economic benefit from the forest in a sustainable way.</span>