Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that a bill is in the pipeline which would grant students who plant trees during their graduation studies with three additional marks.
She was speaking at a function held at a private university in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
“In 1947, the forest area of Pakistan was 33%, which was reduced to 4% in 1995,” she said. Now 70% of trees have been cut down in Lahore and the groundwater level in Balochistan has dropped to 1,200 feet, she added.
The construction of 10 dams by the incumbent government will protect future generations, she said, adding that they would be completed within three years. Across Punjab, we have also shifted all brick kilns to environmentally-friendly zigzag technology, she added.
Further, 1.47 billion trees have also been planted, she said. “We have also developed a policy on polythene bags,” she added. “Plastic bags are also found throughout Pakistan.
Instead of seeing butterflies on the motorway, plastic bags collide with vehicles,” she said.
“Glaciers are also melting now,” she said. The minister said that every city and corner of Pakistan was beautiful. “Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of the countries most affected by climate change,” she lamented.
The minster urged students to come forward in eco-friendliness. In the end, she said that the more that are planted, the less pollution there will be.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2022.
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