Naval chief inaugurating the mangrove plantation drive by planting the first sapling. PHOTO: COURTESY PAKISTAN NAVY
A mangroves plantation drive was initiated by the Pakistan Navy to support the federal government's vision of 'Green Pakistan'.
The campaign, 'Pakistan Navy - Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2018', is the third of the series to accomplish plantation of two million mangroves in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
The drive was inaugurated by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi at Shah Bandar. Addressing the inauguration ceremony, he said deforestation of mangroves had not only affected biodiversity of our coastal areas but also the livelihood of coastal communities. The situation demands focused attention and coordinated efforts from all segments of society, he added.
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The current campaign is an initiative to plant mangroves as well as to create awareness among masses about the significance of mangroves, the naval chief said. He informed the ceremony that since 2016, the navy had planted more than two million mangroves along the coast stretching from Shah Bandar to Jiwani. He urged all the stakeholders, including the federal and provincial departments and civil society, to play their role in this regard and join hands with the navy for the cause of protecting marine ecology.
A large number of senior military and civil officials, parliamentarians, businesspersons, representatives of the World Wide Fund for Nature - Pakistan and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and fishing community members attended the ceremony. IUCN Country Head Mahmood Akhtar Cheema lauded the Pakistan Navy for initiating the plantation drive.
Mangroves are vital to the coastal ecosystem as they prevent sea intrusion and help sustain marine life. It is an alarming situation that these plants are gradually diminishing. Being a major stakeholder in the maritime domain and realising the importance of mangroves for marine life, the Pakistan Navy has taken a major initiative to revive mangrove forests along the coasts of Sindh and Balochistan. Apart from mangroves plantation, the navy has also been carrying out a campaign to create awareness about maritime economy.
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