Karachiites mark World Environment Day by planting trees

Agonised by four back-to-back heatwaves in the city since March this year, Karachiites resorted to tree plantation World Environment Day 2018 observed on Tuesday, following warnings from weather experts and environmentalists that the summer this year could last nine months in Pakistan under the influence of climate change and the only option to mitigate that was enhancing tree cover manifolds.

Several experts, including Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department Dr Ghulam Rasool, have been warning for quite a while that summers could last up to nine months with the elimination of spring in the country due to climate change, and advised the countrymen to plant as many trees as possible to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The theme of World Environment Day 2018 was “Beat the Plastic”, but people and public and private organizations in Karachi were more concerned about the lack of tree cover in city.

IGP plants a tree

Sindh Inspector General of Police AD Khowaja announced that he would make it mandatory for every cop in the province to plant a sapling at his or her workplace and take care of the plant until it becomes a fully grown tree, as without trees, nobody can even think of having a clean and better environment in the country.

Speaking at a ceremony on the occasion of World Environment Day, he said the cutting of trees was a crime in many countries, but unfortunately thousands of trees were chopped in Sindh and now there are no trees along canals and roads in the province.

Citing the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he said the emirates were spread over a vast desert, but their rulers and people had planted millions of trees, which not only reduced the temperature in the country but it also resulted in more rainfall. But in Pakistan, he deplored, trees were being chopped down mercilessly.

A delegation of the International Association of Lions Club led-by Malik Khuda Bux presented 1,200 samplings of Neem and Jamun trees to the Sindh police and hoped that the samplings would be planted at the police headquarters and taken care of by the police personnel.

PN personnel clean beach

Pakistan Navy personnel also planted saplings at their installations while seamen cleaned the beach to mark World Environment Day, while Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi said the navy was celebrating the day to underscore the significance of environment in Pakistan and to promote awareness of protecting the marine environment.

“Being a major affectee of marine pollution in Karachi Harbour, PN has initiated numerous measures and actions to reduce pollution. These measures range from systematic collection of solid waste from harbour, large-scale plantation of mangroves in coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan, and sensitising concerned government and non-government organizations about the implications of marine pollution,” Admiral Abbasi said in his message.

He maintained that while awareness remained a vital factor, a number of activities had been planned at the field level to promote awareness and inculcate a sense of responsibility among all to save and preserve the environment. “I expect PN to contribute in this national obligation with dedicated efforts to make the planned events worthwhile and successful,” he added.

Hotel launches drive

Staff and guests of Mövenpick Hotel Karachi also conducted a tree plantation drive in collaboration with ‘I am Karachi’ and planted several saplings at Noor Ali Trust Ground in Clifton to raise awareness about environmental protection activities to combat the rising temperature in Karachi.

A spokesperson for the hotel, Ammara Ashraf said their Mövenpick was a green globe certified and socially responsible organisation that believed in benefiting the area it operated in. The hotel recently conducted tree plantation drive in collaboration with I am Karachi, a social firm, to plant 50 Moringa plants.

“Harsh weather conditions have continued to prevail in the city since the beginning of summer this year. The city has also witnessed several heatwaves making it difficult for the citizens to go on with their day-to- day activities. The severity of the weather conditions has made it compulsory to undertake measures that can have a positive effect on the environment and would result in pleasantness of the weather,” Ammara Ashraf said.

“Mövenpick Hotel Karachi has always tried to initiate as many activities as possible for the benefit of the society. We really feel that the rising temperature is one of the most important issues our city is facing and we need to undertake an activity to play our part in combating it,” said Mirza Mansoor, general manager of the hotel.