35,000 Ecuadoreans will volunteer to plant over 350,000 tree seeds on 16 May, breaking a Guinness World Record in the process.

Seeds will be planted across the country, in a massive reforestation effort confirmed as unprecedented by Carlos Martinez, director of the Latin-American branch of World Guinness Records.

The government is hoping to show its commitment to the environment.

"Ecuador is sending a historic message. It is showing the world that Ecuador is committed to the protection of the environment. It is also an invitation for citizens to act positively towards protecting the environment” said Environment Minister Lorena Tapia.

Since Rafael Correa's presidency in 2008, Ecuador has been trying to scale back its deforestation, which has dropped from 92,000 acres annually between 1990 and 2000 to 47,000 acres since 2012.

"Behind this [reforestation day] is also a governmental policy that has been going on for years. There is an objective of reforestation to recover 50,000 acres by 2017" Tapia added.

The record is currently held by Turkey, which previously mobilised 10,624 people to plant seeds at the same time.