Red light: GPP fails to gain momentum

ISLAMABAD: The Green Pakistan Programme (GPP) has failed to gain momentum despite the claims of the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC).

The ministry has only launched a two-day tree plantation campaign under the programme, in collaboration with the NGO Paidaar, and schoolchildren. The campaign began on Wednesday.

Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had approved launching the GPP in March by conceiving an idea from the “Great Green Wall Programme” of China. The plan was to plant over 100 million trees in five years.

According to the MoCC, 650 trees would be planted in seven schools in the federal capital in the current two-day campaign.

Forest experts consider August to be the best month for tree plantation. But the MoCC did not devise a strategy to plant saplings during the month.

“What is the intention behind the GPP? It matters because Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was showing seriousness towards launching a mass tree plantation campaign by approving Rs2 billion and allocating Rs1billion for GPP in the fiscal budget for 2016-17,” a former MoCC official  told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2016.