Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Sunday announced that an overarching strategy for launching a nationwide spring tree plantation campaign has been formulated in consultation with all provincial forest departments.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to kick-start the spring tree plantation campaign on February 22, which is also marked annually as “Plant4Pakistan Day”.
“We have set a whopping target of planting over 540 million plants all over the country during the spring season spread over February to April under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP)”, the PM’s aide said.
Malik Amin said that 7,50,000 members of the Pakistan Boy Scout Association (PBSA) will join the plantation campaign.
“The spring tree plantation drive would also witness members of all governmental and non-governmental civil society organisations including educational institutions, political leaders, National Assembly and Senate members,” Malik Amin said.
Spelling out provincial statistical break-up data regarding spring tree plantation campaign, the PM’s aide said that out of over 540 million nation-wide spring tree plantation target, 194 million saplings will be planted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 74 million in Punjab 74, 140 million in Sindh, 13.50 million in Balochistan, 98.76 million in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 20.64 million in Gilgit-Baltistan.
He said that as many as 674 events have been planned. The events would be organised by provinces with the active participation of people from all walks of life including 7,50,000 scouts.
Malik Amin has emphasised that the three-month season provides an unprecedented opportunity to plant as many trees as possible all over the country for dealing with various environmental problems.
“Planting a tree in spring gives the tree an early start in the growing season. It can then spend the summer and autumn settling in and building a root system before the cold weather arrives,” he said.
He said that highly climate-vulnerable Pakistan cannot cope with climate risks, particularly floods, torrential rains, desertification, sea-level rise and heatwaves, which have become increasingly frequent due to global warming impacts, without increasing tree cover.
“Forests hold back floodwater by nearly 72 hours and hence, reduce the intensity of the deluge water, lower chances of deaths and roads, building infrastructures, bridges and standing crops from being washed away or wiped out,” he argued.
Malik Amin Aslam underlined the need for conserving soil and in this regards trees can play a vital role.
“Being a method to maintain the fertility of the soil by protecting the soil from erosion and nutrient loss, the soil conservation is important because it is crucial for many aspects of the human life and non-living beings. For, it does provide food, filters air and water and helps to decompose biological waste into nutrients for new plant life,” he explained.
“Soil conversation involves working to reduce contamination and depletion. Certain human activities can result in the erosion of soil, such as land being cleared for farming or timber,” the PM’s aide said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2022.
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