ISLAMABAD – Planted sapling of Avocado (Persea Americana fruit tree) at the Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched a massive monsoon tree plantation campaign to regain required forest cover.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said that the plantation under the Ten Billion Tree Programme would help Pakistan gain its required forest cover, which was unfortunately quite less compared with other countries in the region.
He said that as Pakistan faced the impending challenge of climate change, the massive plantation was the solution to reverse the negative impacts of environmental degradation. He said deforestation had resulted in increased levels of air pollution and temperatures, which required a special focus on planting trees.
He said ruthless tree-cutting during the previous governments had led to rising pollution in big cities and emphasized that trees were the natural remedy to absorb the airborne pollutants. Sharing his vision to make every city green, he asked the local administrations including commissioners and deputy commissioners to ensure proper implementation of the plantation drive and also preserve the green covers.
Imran Khan mentioned that the world was acknowledging Pakistan’s role in leading efforts against climate change, particularly meeting the Bonn Challenge of planting trees. A large number of volunteers were present to plant saplings in the premises of the park. The nationwide activity is taking place in the rainy season of monsoon as part of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami under the auspices of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
In the next few weeks, the CDA will plant nearly half a million trees across the federal capital. Over the years, Islamabad has witnessed a massive reduction in tree cover, particularly in the last two decades. However, the green graph is gradually showing an upward trend after the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan carried out a massive tree plantation campaign under the Clean and Green Pakistan Initiative.
Two days ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan planted a sapling in Nathia Gali’s scenic resort to promote plantation for the sake of preserving the natural environment. He also urged the nation especially youth to join hands in gearing up for the plantation campaign. Even before joining politics, the prime minister has long been a strong advocate for the importance of plantations for the future of a clean and green Pakistan.
