Project launched for waste-free tourism in KP

PESHAWAR: The Tourism Department under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE) has launched a new initiative to promote responsible tourism for a waste-free future at the tourist sites of the province.

The KITE, Galiyat Development Authority, Abbottabad, and Nestlé Pakistan jointly launched the initiative - Travel Responsibly for Experiencing Ecotourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TREK) - awareness campaign, said a press release here.

The TREK is a collaboration between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and World Bank KITE Project and Nestlé to promote responsible tourism for a waste-free future in Nathiagali.

KITE Project Director Touseef Khalid said that TREK was a unique initiative being implemented in partnership with the World Bank Group and Nestlé Pakistan to reduce, reuse and recycle and a community engagement plan, which includes activities that will help in countering the issues of waste, pollution and destruction of wildlife.

“Activities within TREK include the provision of solid waste management equipment, awareness campaigns for tourists, installation of information boards and training of local communities on waste minimisation and collection, apart from the provision of restrooms for tourists’ facilitation under KITE,” said the official.

It may be mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan had unveiled the logo for TREK in December 2020, which is part of KITE project and has been listed amongst the federal government’s key achievements of 2020.

Addressing the participants, chief executive officer Nestlé Pakistan Samer Chedid said that it was their company’s vision that none of the packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or rivers.

“To achieve this objective, we have set ourselves the commitment of ensuring 100 percent of our packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2025.”Galiyat Development Authority Director Raza Habib and World Bank’s senior private sector specialist Kiran Afzal appreciated the project and hoped it would help tackle the issues of waste management and pollution and ensure safety to wildlife.