Choked

Poor planning by the environment wing of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the fast increasing number of vehicles is expected to result in the aggravation of global warming effects in Islamabad due to excessive carbon emissions. Carbon emissions were already on the rise in the federal capital with the number of registered vehicles going up to 227,319, an official said, yet in the past few years the CDA had ordered downing a large number of paper mulberry and other trees in order to construct roads and facilitate execution of various projects. The official said global warming (the rise in the earth’s temperature), was caused by greenhouse gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone, being concentrated and trapped in the atmosphere. These gases increased beyond the usual amounts due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The trees served as a defence against these air pollutants due to their capacity, through photosynthesis, to produce oxygen and consume carbon dioxide, thereby maintaining the fixed ratios of the atmospheric gases needed to sustain human life. Global warming also caused changes in the agricultural yield partly due to a reduced amount of water flowing in the rivers in the summer. The disproportionate increase in volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is inarguably the result of human activity. He said that on the one hand, the CDA had failed to replenish or replant after chopping down a huge number of trees in various areas across the city and to make matters worse they had not yet seen through the materialisation of the Carbon Credit Project to make Islamabad a carbon neutral city. “The main objective of the Carbon Credit Project was to decrease carbon emissions in the city and so tackle global warming,” he said. He said the CDA had similarly failed to make any rules so far, that directed people to use zero-lead petrol, and to install catalytic converters and CNG kits in their vehicles. The installation of such equipment would reduce carbon emissions throughout the city, he said. The official said environmentalists had informed the CDA several times that only the male paper mulberry trees produced pollen, yet the latter had gone on indiscriminately chopping down both the male and female paper mulberry trees. Paper mulberry trees have large leaves and thus have the capability to produce large amounts of oxygen. The paper mulberry tree is unofficially known as the territory tree of Islamabad Capital Territory and is therefore part of the city’s heritage. However, from February to April, proximity to this tree can contribute to severe pollen allergy. In Islamabad the pollen count goes as high as 40,000 per m³ causing problems for residents. Despite this, the cutting of these trees affects the city very adversely given that the authority has not yet launched an effective tree plantation campaign, he said. He said that that any town planner needed to plant trees before cutting down trees on such a wide scale. They CDA not only failed to do so, but also failed to take care of existing greenery and trees in the city. “Due to the negligence of the CDA’s environment wing, a large number of trees just die,” he said, “The CDA needs to plant indigenous trees in Islamabad.” The CDA planted trees but the improper trimming of these trees resulted in their falling short of satisfying the city’s air quality needs. As highlighted by environmentalists previously, being a country still running largely on an agriculture-based economy, Pakistan may have to face more severe repercussions as drastic shifts in the climate are likely to hit hard on a raw nerve.