Rs100 billion to be spent on achieving plantation target

Islamabad: The federal government would spend around Rs100 billion for achieving the target of planting 3.25 billion trees till 2023 under Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme.

According to the official statistics, the goal of planting ten billion trees would be achieved through consistent efforts in the years to come in coordination with the local and foreign donor agencies.

The process of distributing 350 million saplings among the federating units is underway and monitoring committees are being constituted to keep vigil over the plantation campaigns across the country.

It has also been revealed that the government is not only enhancing tree cover in the country but also making efforts to stop unsustainable forest management practices and high dependency on local communities on forests for meeting a wide variety of needs including timber, firewood, fodder for livestock, agricultural land, and non-timber forest products including wild fruits and medicinal plants.

Pakistan is highly rich in both ecosystem and species biodiversity where such ecosystems are still intact. It is home to nine distinct eco-regions: Mangrove, Tropical Thorn, Sub-tropical Evergreen Broadleaved, Tropical Chir, Moist Temperate, Dry Temperate, Sub-alpine, Alpine, and permanent snowfields.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said the efforts of Pakistan to plant billions of trees were being recognized globally but it was an ongoing process and would be completed in the years to come.

“We are right now in the middle of the process but still the positive results have started appearing everywhere in the country. The forest cover is increasing fast and it will hopefully help preserve biodiversity in the country,” he said.

He said “The government will successfully achieve its target of planting one billion saplings by the middle of this year. The tree plantation campaigns are being monitored by provinces, the federal government and third parties like Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).”