- Govt plan to plant 47 million saplings
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk on Wednesday kicked off the annual monsoon tree plantation campaign, planting a sapling of Pinus Roxburgh here at the PM House, with a pledge to make Pakistan green.
Caretaker Minister for Climate Change Muhammad Yusuf Shaikh and senior officials were present at the launch ceremony. The Ministry of Climate Change has set a target of planting 47.14 million trees during the monsoons this year at national level in collaboration with the provinces, armed forces, police, civil services, local bodies, corporations, municipalities, autonomous bodies, jails and educational institutions.
According to the targets, Punjab would plant nine million, Sindh 11 million, KPK 15 million, Balochistan 0.6 million, Azad Jammu Kashmir 3.6 million, Gilgit-Baltistan 0.5 million, the areas previously under FATA 5.3 million, National Highway Authority 0.5 million, International Union of Conservation of Nature 0.5 million, Pakistan Ordinance Factory 20 thousands, Ministry of Defence one million, Aeronautical Complex 20 thousand and the Heavy Industries Taxila set the target of 1 lac.
This plantation will be besides the one undergoing in the Green Pakistan Programme. The tree plantation campaigns are frequently conducted to highlight the important role of forests in the improvement of environment, to counter negative impact of Climate change and poverty alleviation.
The government has initiated a massive tree planting programme in all the provinces and territories of Pakistan through the Green Pakistan Programme. The project envisages planting of 100 million additional saplings throughout the country to make Pakistan Greener.