Green Islamabad: Natural beauty of capital under threat
Authority has increased the number of new sapling from 400,000 to 500,000 during the Spring Tree Plantation Campaign
The greenbelt in the capital is degrading due to negligence. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The federal capital, encapsulated by nature, enviable forestry and beds of wild flowers, is rapidly losing its prized greenery. The principle reasons are poor management and ill-planned development on the part of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The continuous degradation of vibrant trees is down to the negligence of the civic body. The number of dead trees is increasing with each passing day as a result of neglect on the part of the environment wing of the civic body.
The trend is resulting in the rapid shrinking of greenbelts, with adverse effects on the environment. Coupled with the population influx and increasing pollution levels, a dire situation is ahead.
Dr Hafeez, a resident of Sector F-10, said greenbelts in the F series of sectors had the largest number of dead trees. Greenery, once a hallmark of Islamabad, now only existed in the lawns of posh sectors of the capital. Preservation of old trees is a common practice in developed countries, but the CDA has not made any efforts to do so.
Shazia Khan, another city resident, observed that the CDA had felled thousands of trees in the last few years but nobody knew where these trees had gone.
The CDA conduct tree plantation campaigns each year where a number of saplings are planted, but despite this, tree cover in Islamabad is decreasing at a startling rate.
The survival rate of the saplings is also a matter of great concern because CDA’s directorate concerned only seems to show enthusiasm during the campaign. There is no effective mechanism to monitor the health of saplings and limited staff is available to look after them. As a result, most of them die within days of their plantation. Notwithstanding, a CDA official says the authority has increased the number of new sapling from 400,000 to 500,000 during the Spring Tree Plantation Campaign. Of the total saplings planted, more than 50 per cent of the plants have grown due to monitoring, while measures will be taken to improve survival rates.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2016.
The federal capital, encapsulated by nature, enviable forestry and beds of wild flowers, is rapidly losing its prized greenery. The principle reasons are poor management and ill-planned development on the part of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The continuous degradation of vibrant trees is down to the negligence of the civic body. The number of dead trees is increasing with each passing day as a result of neglect on the part of the environment wing of the civic body.
The trend is resulting in the rapid shrinking of greenbelts, with adverse effects on the environment. Coupled with the population influx and increasing pollution levels, a dire situation is ahead.
Dr Hafeez, a resident of Sector F-10, said greenbelts in the F series of sectors had the largest number of dead trees. Greenery, once a hallmark of Islamabad, now only existed in the lawns of posh sectors of the capital. Preservation of old trees is a common practice in developed countries, but the CDA has not made any efforts to do so.
Shazia Khan, another city resident, observed that the CDA had felled thousands of trees in the last few years but nobody knew where these trees had gone.
The CDA conduct tree plantation campaigns each year where a number of saplings are planted, but despite this, tree cover in Islamabad is decreasing at a startling rate.
The survival rate of the saplings is also a matter of great concern because CDA’s directorate concerned only seems to show enthusiasm during the campaign. There is no effective mechanism to monitor the health of saplings and limited staff is available to look after them. As a result, most of them die within days of their plantation. Notwithstanding, a CDA official says the authority has increased the number of new sapling from 400,000 to 500,000 during the Spring Tree Plantation Campaign. Of the total saplings planted, more than 50 per cent of the plants have grown due to monitoring, while measures will be taken to improve survival rates.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2016.