Syrian President Bashar al-Assad participated Thursday in a local afforestation campaign, Syrian official SANA news agency reported.

The campaign, organized by Syria Army, aims to cover 1,150 acres of land in Qatana area, 20 km west of the capital Damascus, the report said.

President Assad constantly attends afforestation activities organized by the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Agriculture which started in 1997 in Damascus and its countryside as about 1, 300 hectares are planted annually with half a million trees, SANA reported.

Due to the increased demands for wood and forest products, the Syrian government has developed afforestation projects in recent decades to prevent the soil erosion and to protect the infrastructure from winds and natural disasters.