55pc deforestation occurs in Punjab and Sindh

Islamabad: Almost fifty-five per cent of deforestation occurs in arid zones and areas along with rivers in the Punjab and Sindh provinces.

According to the details, the illegal cutting of trees is being carried out on areas measuring 8,000 hectares annually but this ratio is decreasing with each passing day. The record showed that the trees were being removed on 12,000 hectares annually in 2012 but the situation started improving after launching of Billion Tree Tsunami project in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa province.

Prime Minister Imran Khan later launched the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme (TBTTP) in 2018 and took effective measures to reduce deforestation in the country. The official statistics show that Pakistan is emitting planet-warming 480 million tons of carbon annually but TBTTP would enhance the capacity of the forest cover to the extent where it will be able to absorb 500 million tons of carbon from the air, more than the total emission of the country.

The need to feed the large population means that most fertile land has already been turned over to food grains like wheat or cash crops. Trees are also cut down to make firewood, though the government has been trying to curb the practice in the last few years.