Barometer to measure green character of cities to be launched today

Islamabad :Prime Minister Imran Khan will today (Monday) launch the country’s first ever barometer that will measure green character and cleanliness of Pakistani cities, a flagship environmental conservation and protection plan of the present government, Malik Amin Aslam, the premier’s advisor on climate change announced on Sunday.

The key political and non-political representatives of provincial governments including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, federal and provincial ministers, senior federal and provincial government officials, ambassadors of various countries, teachers, students and senior representatives of local and international non-governmental organisations will attend the grand ceremony of the CGPI launch.

Talking to media, Malik Amin Aslam, said that the barometer called the Clean Green Pakistan Index (CGPI) aims improve overall green and clean outlooks of the Pakistani cities by kicking off competition among them on various indicators including sustainable public access to clean drinking water, safe sanitation, effective solid waste management and tree plantation.

At the grand launching ceremony, the prime minister would also announce the start of the first phase of six-month competition among 19 cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces would made by the prime minister, Malik Amin Aslam explained. He said that the country’s socio-economic, health and environmental damages to the tune of around Rs700 billion annually because of environmental degradation, deforestation, poor access to clean and safe drinking water and sanitation and lack of solid waste management and wastewater treatment facilities.

“Tackling these challenges by initiating competition among Pakistani cities, which are witnessing the growing exodus from rural areas, to improve green and clean outlooks is the pivotal objective of the CGPI rolled out in consultation with relevant government and non-governmental and international stakeholders,” he said. Amin Aslam emphasised that the CGPI has been rolled out by the ministry under the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political manifesto of clean and green Pakistan and environmental conservation and sustainability Referring to roles of cities in socio-economic developments in European, Asia-Pacific countries and elsewhere, Amin Aslam said that cities in many countries are playing vital roles in overall socio-economic development of the countries. It is because, cities are now providing economies of scale and they are also providing efficient infrastructure and services through density and concentration in sustainable transportation, communications, power, human interactions, water and sanitation services and effective waste management and enhanced urban forestry activities, he argued. Meanwhile explaining the other core objectives of the CGPI, Climate Change Ministry Secretary Hassan Nasir Jami said, the CGPI initiative also aims to set off a sustainable competition process among 19 cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakh­tunkhwa cities in the first phase and in the second phase the competition process would be expanded to other provinces of the country for making cities there clean and green and environmentally sustainable through massive urban afforestation programmes and sustained supply of basic life amenities such as clean drinking water, safe sanitation, efficient municipal and solid waste management service deliveries,” Mr. Jami elaborated.