The government must plant saplings on a war footing.
RAWALPINDI: Forest-to-land ratio in Pakistan in 2010 was 2.19 per cent as reported in a World Bank report published in 2012. This is not only one of the lowest in the world, but unfortunately, Pakistan also has the highest rate of deforestation in Asia. Just to draw the comparison, Russia has 46 per cent forest cover, Brazil 56 per cent, Indonesia 47 per cent, Sweden 74 per cent, Spain 56 per cent, Japan 67 per cent, Canada 31 per cent and the US 30 per cent. On the other hand, Afghanistan has a mere 0.25 per cent, Algeria 1.70 per cent, Bahrain 0.67 per cent and the UAE 3.5 per cent. Ideally, the figure should be at least 33 per cent.
The importance of forests for a country in improving its ecology, as well as its economy cannot be overemphasised and Pakistan must pay immediate heed to augmenting this natural resource. The government must plant saplings on a war footing, and in fact, each and every Pakistani must be made to plant one tree, at least, once a year. Though some of the monsoon rains have already come and gone, there is time still for a tree plantation drive.
At the very least, the armed forces, civil armed forces, paramilitary forces (Rangers, Coast Guard, FC), police, railways, Wapda, schools, colleges, universities, government departments, political parties and NGOs must take the lead in organising such drives. Needless to say, the planted trees must also be looked after and watered when required till they are strong enough to survive on their own. Hope some of our visionary leaders and rulers are listening.
Colonel (retd) Riaz Jafri
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2013.
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