Target of 109m saplings plantation set for monsoon season

Islamabad

A target of planting 109 million saplings throughout the country has been set for the monsoon season which will kick off from mid of July.

The target of 109 million saplings plantation includes, as many as 14.2million saplings that would be planted under the Prime Minister’s five year Green Pakistan Programme during the monsoon season will also be launched said Deputy Director Media and Communication of Climate Change Ministry Mohammad Saleem.

He said Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid has approved the target after holding of a meeting with provincial forest departments, federal ministries, National Highway Authority, Pakistan Ordinance Factory and Heavy Industries Texila.

Giving breakup of the spring plantation target he said as per targets set by the provincial and federal governments as well as departments 13 million saplings would be planted during this year monsoon season by Punjab forest department throughout the province.

During the season Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will plant 75million saplings, Sindh 12 million saplings, Baluchistan 0.7 million saplings, Azad Jammu and Kashmir three million saplings, Fata 4.1million saplings, Ministry of Defence one million saplings, Heavy Industries, Texila 1,000 saplings, Pakistan Ordinance Factory 7,000 saplings and IUCN 200,000 saplings.

He said on January 29, 2016 a nationwide target of 153 million saplings plantation for this year’s spring season was set of, in which around 208 million saplings had been planted across the country and survival of the saplings planted during the season was more than 70 per cent.

To a question he said The Green Pakistan Programme has been launched as a national cause and as a part of the present government’s efforts to protect the country and its people from devastating impacts of climate change induced disasters particularly floods which have shown rise in intensity and frequency over recent years. He said that forests are effective way to boost the country’s climate change resilience against negative fall outs of the climate change.