Monsoon drive: Over 100m saplings’ plantation target set

Green Pakistan Programme to be formally launched in August

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) has set a target of planting 109 million saplings across the country this monsoon starting August 14.

Climate Change Minister Zahid Hamid, who chaired an inter-ministerial and inter-provincial meeting at the ministry here on Wednesday, approved the target after officials of provincial forest departments, federal ministries and other departments gave their input and shared their set targets for the upcoming monsoon season.

Of the 109 million trees, around 14.2 million saplings would be planted under the Prime Minister’s five-year Green Pakistan Programme (GPP) project, which will be formally launched in August.



While giving break-up of the upcoming tree plantation target, Inspector-General of Forest Pakistan Syed Mehmood Nasir told the meeting that the Punjab will plant 13 million trees, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 75 million, Sindh 12 million, Balochistan 0.7 million, Azad Jammu and Kashmir three million, FATA 4.1 million, defence ministry one million trees, Heavy Industry Texila 1,000 trees, Pakistan Ordinance Factory 7,000 trees and IUCN 200,000 trees.

The meeting also reviewed the year’s spring season tree plantation targets.

The minister urged the participants to join the federal government’s efforts to make the GPP project a success.

“The GPP project is being launched as a national cause to protect the country and its people from the devastating impacts of climate change-induced disasters particularly floods, which have shown intensity and frequency over recent years,” he told the participants.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2016.