[Lauchenoiria]

Kerlian News Service

International Edition

Restricted Region Tree-Planting Initiative to be Discussed by Council
11th July 2020

The Parliament of Kerlile today debated a proposal to plant trees across the now-closed and derelict area known formerly as the Restricted Region, and previously as Region 17. Following the debate, which gained the support of Parliament, the Council are set to discuss the proposal at some point over the next week. If accepted, the large-scale reforestation project would lead to the planting of several million trees across the area which was cleared in the 1960s to allow for the construction of military facilities and prisons.

Parliament-originated proposals have historically been limited to certain subjects and have been rare, with most legislation beginning discussion in the Council chamber, or being drafted by a Councillor to send to Parliament. This is the most large-scale, ambitious project that has been proposed by the Parliament in decades. Restrictions on Parliamentary debate topics were lifted as part of the Reform Party agenda several months ago, with only matters pertaining to the Council itself now being forbidden – though the Council retains veto power on proposals from Parliament.

The Parliament, which is comprised of 96 Members of Parliament, six from each region, contains 89 MPs from the Women’s Party of Kerlile, alongside 5 independents and only 2 Reform Party members who were previously independents prior to 2019. Elections take place every eight years, with all non-incarcerated women over the age of 18 resident in Kerlile entitled to vote. The most recent elections took place on the 17th May 2015. The Council has, however, debated calling early elections on the grounds that the political landscape of Kerlile has changed drastically since that time.

The move was proposed by Women’s Party member Bellona Siebert, who is known for championing environmental initiatives within the Parliament. She has worked on many environmental projects, including the successful Squirrel Protection Initiative which sought to ban certain chemicals which are toxic to the Fleuran Red Squirrel from being used by the agriculture industry. The Fleuran Red Squirrel is an endangered squirrel species native to Kerlile and northern Lauchenoiria.

If the initiative goes ahead, the presently unused area will become home to many trees of a variety of species, to improve biodiversity in the area, and disused prison and military buildings will either be knocked down or repurposed to use as conservation centres, veterinary hospitals and research posts for climate researchers. It is unlikely, however, that the Council will accept the ambitious proposal in full, though it is expected a version will be passed before the Kerlian delegation attends the Lauchenoirian Climate Conference next month.