A tree partially uprooted in Blue Area due to the recent heavy rains in the capital. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Islamabad’s environmentalists have appealed to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take urgent action to rehabilitate trees in Blue Area that were partially uprooted during the recent rains and have demanded that the civic agency formulate a policy to guard against such incidents in the future.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, environmental expert Shahida Kauser Farooq, after consulting national and international experts, has written a letter to the CDA chairman requesting his immediate attention to the capital’s environmental concerns.
She said that Subh-e-Nau, an organisation involved in environmental projects and legislation for over two decades, could help the CDA create new laws, as it has done in the case of the Sindh Government back in the 1990s with the Trees and Parks Act, aimed at saving urban plantation.
“Our forest cover is falling rapidly --- it is at a dismal two per cent. In urban areas, significant forest cover is essential to save us from the heat island effect. The CDA must act swiftly to save and promote plantation,” she added.
In her letter, Farooq explained to CDA chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif that trees which have been surviving in Blue Area for over 20 years needed urgent rehabilitation.
She said the civic agency’s Environment Directorate could make use of its resources and capacity to start work immediately.
Dr Farrukh Chishtie, professor at the Institute of Space Technology and an expert on climate change, called on the government to devise strategies to help preserve trees and other natural treasures that have contributed to stabilising temperatures and mitigating air pollution in the capital for decades.
Dr Jawad Ahmed, an environmentalist, said it was about time the CDA came up with a comprehensive law to check tree cutting. “Each and every tree in the city is sacred, and should be preserved,” he added.
Meanwhile, CDA Spokesperson Naeem Rauf, while speaking to The Express Tribune, said a team from the civic agency’s Environment Directorate and forest experts are examining the condition of the trees in Blue Area which had been partially uprooted during the recent rains.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 21st, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ