CM launches spring tree plantation drive in KP

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan launched the spring tree plantation drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

He opened the drive by planting an olive sapling in the lawn of the Chief Minister’s House, said a handout.

Speaking on the occasion, he urged the people to fully participate in the tree plantation drive so that the targets set at national level for tree plantation could easily be achieved.

The provincial government, he said, had successfully achieved the target of one billion tree project in the last five years, which was appreciated and recognised at international level.

He said that under the 10 billion tree tsunami project (BTTP), additional one billion saplings were being planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief minister said that the BTTP had been designed with focus on combating the vagaries of climate change, sustainable forestry development, creating job opportunities and reducing pressure on existing natural forest.

The chief minister was informed that more than 250 million saplings would be planted in the province during the current spring tree planting campaign as

part of a series of 10 billion tree projects at the national level, under which a target of planting more than 382 million trees in the province has been set for the year 2020-21.

It was informed that more than 132 million saplings were planted in the province during the monsoon tree planting campaign last year while cumulatively, about 300 million saplings have been planted so far under the project. It was informed that special focus was being paid to olive tree planting during the campaign.