Off with the trees!

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) is continuously replacing indigenous plants with ornamental plants of shorter heights which are in no way a replacement for the old trees.

The trees along the provincial capital main roads not just for decoration but also serve as public spaces where people walk, shop, meet and participate in activities that make urban living enjoyable. Conventional guidelines for transportation safety regards trees as roadside fixed-objects that constitute driving hazards but urban foresters, designers, and planners encourage tree planting to enhance the livability of urban streets.
The idea of planting palm or date trees in the metropolitan is creating unrest for the environment and as well for the citizens of Lahore. Not only do they require a dry climate, sandy soil but also flourish in the desert.
Due to elimination of tall trees, the cemented infrastructure in the city has increased the temperature. The non-humid and super dried environment is making more difficulties for the citizens. The authorities apparently cannot understand why the trees here are so leafy and so rich in shade. The straight forward thing to do of course is to cut whatever trees are left standing.
Cutting off trees, improper garbage disposal, bad sewerage system, constructions of roads are the main factors, causing environmental pollution. Multiple development projects, the widening of roads and construction of underpasses are carried out at the cost of trees that results in the concentration of harmful gases in the air.
There was a time when Lahore’s main boulevard was being widened, it was said that this was necessary to accommodate the tremendously high rate of vehicles that ply on the boulevard. So the road was widened. Before the boulevard was not widened it had in its middle beautiful shrubs and flowers and after Liberty Chowk, there were lush green verges. Every time along the main boulevard, there was always had a refreshing feel.
But then came the urge to widen the boulevard, which was widened of course, but the beautiful flowers and the shrubs were no more there. The lush green verges beyond Liberty had also gone. Instead they started planting those odd looking date palms surrounded by those ugly concrete structures which started sprouting like mushrooms all along the main boulevard. This same thing is also witnessed along the route of BRTS and other main roads which were constructed in the provincial capital.
A medical expert has revealed that 22 per cent citizens are suffering from asthma, a disease caused by pollution. Air pollution has also become a major problem of the provincial capital. There are no controls on vehicular emissions, which account for 90 per cent of pollutants.
Survey report claims that the average vehicle emits 25 times as much carbon monoxide, 20 times as many hydrocarbons. Over 20,000 rickshaws roam the streets of Lahore, worsening air pollution levels.
Due to elimination of tall trees, the cemented infrastructure in the city has increased the temperature.
Rafia Kamal, an environmentalist working on the landscape ecology of Lahore, said rapid and unplanned urbanisation had drastically changed the city’s landscape ecology. New developments and network of roads are a good addition and provide solution for the expanding traffic and population but the removal of so many indigenous trees and plantations can have a negative effect on the environment of the city, she said.
The local vegetation is disappearing rapidly and is being supplanted by exotic ornamental varieties. The non native exotic flora may fulfill the requirements of beauty and aesthetics but they cannot replace the damage done to the environment by the removal of native species, she said.
The new ornamental plantation comprising mostly, species of tropical environments like palms cannot diminish the increased levels of air pollution and high intensity temperatures, she said.
Rafia said research shows that trees with dense foliage and large surface area are most appropriate for the abatement of air pollution and temperature rise. They minimise the effect by maximum absorption of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, and other pollutants emitted by vehicular emissions like, volatile organic matter (VOCs), Soxes, Noxes (oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen) and O3 (Ozone), she said.
“Our indigenous trees have more absorptive capability to reduce the effect of pollution and temperature hikes than the ornamental trees in our present landscapes and road side green areas,” she added.
The use of local varieties of trees, shrubs and creepers can lead to a more sustainable environment owing to their lower consumption of water as compared to foreign tropical varieties, she said.