Plan afoot to grow Miyawaki forests

Plantation drive has been started on an emergency basis despite limited resources, says CDA official

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has thrashed out a plan to make Islamabad a green city using the Miyawaki method.

Under this initiative, indigenous trees will be planted in 30 locations of the federal capital.

The CDA’s environment wing has completed a survey of all sectors and rural areas for planting Miyawaki forests in public parks, greenbelts, and green areas, officials said.

Rs30 million have been earmarked for the plantation drive under which trees up to six feet tall will be planted in different areas, they said.

According to the world environment report, with the rapid increase of Islamabad’s population, the number of vehicles and pollution will spike by 2024.

CDA Environment Director Irfan Khan Niazi said that, like other cities, Islamabad is also facing environmental pollution. He said the federal capital under the master plan was designed to house a population of 1.3 million. However, the population is growing at a rapid rate. He said that the plantation drive has been started on an emergency basis despite limited resources.

Niazi said they had paid no attention to afforestation in the past which has resulted in a negative impact on the environment. The official said that the Miyawaki project would be completed by December.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2021.