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🇵🇰 Tree Plantation (1 Viewer)
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PHA to plant 600,000 geo-tagged saplings in LHR to combat air pollution
The Parks and Horticulture Authorities (PHA) has been directed to plant 600,000 geo-tagged saplings to combat air pollution in Lahore, according to news published in the national dailies on April 27.
As per the details, a strategy has been implemented to combat air pollution by planting 600,000 six-foot saplings in vacant areas in the city. In this regard, a joint committee comprising the Lahore District Administration and Forest Department has been formed to ensure successful implementation. It was revealed that the Lahore Commissioner has requested a list of unused planting sites.
Moreover, the PHA will be planting trees on the routes linking Lahore to other districts. Every sapling will be geotagged and uploaded to a dashboard in order to track the success of the planting initiative. This campaign is a crucial step towards decreasing the detrimental effects of air pollution on the well-being and health of citizens along with promoting the significance of sustainability and environmental conservation for future generations.
The Parks and Horticulture Authorities (PHA) has been directed to plant 600,000 geo-tagged saplings to combat air pollution in Lahore, according to news published in the national dailies on April 27.
As per the details, a strategy has been implemented to combat air pollution by planting 600,000 six-foot saplings in vacant areas in the city. In this regard, a joint committee comprising the Lahore District Administration and Forest Department has been formed to ensure successful implementation. It was revealed that the Lahore Commissioner has requested a list of unused planting sites.
Moreover, the PHA will be planting trees on the routes linking Lahore to other districts. Every sapling will be geotagged and uploaded to a dashboard in order to track the success of the planting initiative. This campaign is a crucial step towards decreasing the detrimental effects of air pollution on the well-being and health of citizens along with promoting the significance of sustainability and environmental conservation for future generations.
- Jan 25, 2024
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- Jan 25, 2024
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- Jan 25, 2024
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Mangrove cover expands by over 4 times in 2 decades, though experts voice concern on degradation
Anadolu Agency
July 25, 2022
Pakistan's mangrove cover has seen rapid expansion along the Arabian Sea over the past two decades due to coordinated efforts by government agencies and environmental organizations.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, which is celebrated on July 26 every year, Tahir Rasheed, a regional director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan, said that in Southeast Asia, Pakistan is the only country where mangrove cover has increased dramatically over the last two decades.
Between 1999-2021, the vulnerable mangrove area along Pakistan's 1,050-kilometer (652-mile) coastline has increased to over 200,000 hectares (over 494,000 acres) from 46,000 hectares (over a 113,000 acres).
A colossal chunk of mangrove forest falls in southern Sindh province, whereas southwestern Balochistan province, which boasts a 700-kilometer (435-mile) coastline, shares a meager portion of nearly 4,000 hectares.
"We witnessed a decline of mangrove forest from 600,000 hectares along the Sindh coastline in the early 20th century to merely 46,000 hectares in the mid-1980s. However, the cover area of mangroves has increased to over 200,000 hectares along the Sindh and Balochistan coastline over the past two decades," Rasheed said.
Due to the "well-coordinated" plantation and rehabilitation campaigns by the Sindh Forest Department the federal government, WWF-Pakistan, and civil society organizations, the country's mangrove cover is increasing at a "good pace," he went on to say.
A host of projects by WWF-Pakistan alone have contributed 16,000 hectares to the country's overall mangrove cover, apart from the rehabilitation of 32,000 hectares, he added.
Danger still lurking
Mangroves, a group of trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines, are significantly important for ecosystems and are considered the first line of defense against cyclones, strong surges, tsunamis, and other natural calamities.
The Sindh coast, particularly the port city of Karachi, has been reeling from a relentless process of morphological changes mainly due to anthropogenic activities including industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation, rapid industrialization, urbanization, and land degradation in addition to natural processes.
Industrial and economic infrastructure development, land-grabbing and inhabitation along the coast, and the construction of huts at beaches have adversely impacted the marine ecosystems and mangroves of the adjoining creeks, say environmentalists.
Making matters worse, some natural phenomena such as high energy waves, tidal currents, and strong winds during monsoons have also influenced changes along the coast.
Acknowledging a "rapid" increase in mangrove cover in the country, Hammad Gilani, a Lahore-based environmentalist, nonetheless observed that the danger is still lurking.
"Mangroves along Pakistan's coastal belt and Indus Delta are still facing two key threats in the form of sea intrusion and degradation," Gilani, a researcher at the International Water Management Institute in Lahore, told Anadolu Agency.
"Deforestation (of mangroves) is not a big problem. But degradation, which includes some justifiable livestock needs, is really an issue," he argued.
He noted that rising sea levels have long been wreaking havoc on mangroves, especially in the Indus Delta, from where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea.
Also, mangroves require a systematic flow of fresh water, which unfortunately does not persist at the moment, he said.
Gilani noted that the South Asian country has seen a rapid augmentation in mangrove cover after the 2010 massive floods, which, although inundating a fifth of Pakistan, made up for a freshwater shortage.
Sharing a similar view, Rasheed said: "To keep the momentum going, we have to create awareness among the masses, and especially the policymakers, about the environmental significance of the mangroves and reinforce how important they are as the threat is not over yet."
Bulwark against sea battering
Thick mangroves have long protected Karachi and its coastal communities from erosion caused by the Arabian Sea's unending waves, observed Shabina Faraz, a Karachi-based expert, who often writes on the environment.
However, she added, the fragile ecosystem faces numerous threats, from coastal development, urbanization, and encroachment to the commercial exploitation of mangroves, reduction of freshwater flows and sedimentation, erosion of coastal areas, chemical dumping, and raw sewage.
"Karachi city alone contributes 500 million gallons of untreated water to the sea. Apart from that, polluted water from 6,000 industries also contributes high-impact pollutants to the Arabian sea that negatively affect the mangrove ecosystem and marine fauna," she maintained, speaking to Anadolu Agency.
Gilani, the Lahore-based expert, said that despite an increasing mangrove cover, satellite imagery has punctuated the need for national-scale carbon sequestration reporting for a performance-based payment mechanism flowing from developed countries to developing ones.
Seconding his view, Faraz said carbon sequestration reporting could add to the national economy "significantly."
Anadolu Agency
July 25, 2022
Pakistan's mangrove cover has seen rapid expansion along the Arabian Sea over the past two decades due to coordinated efforts by government agencies and environmental organizations.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, which is celebrated on July 26 every year, Tahir Rasheed, a regional director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan, said that in Southeast Asia, Pakistan is the only country where mangrove cover has increased dramatically over the last two decades.
Between 1999-2021, the vulnerable mangrove area along Pakistan's 1,050-kilometer (652-mile) coastline has increased to over 200,000 hectares (over 494,000 acres) from 46,000 hectares (over a 113,000 acres).
A colossal chunk of mangrove forest falls in southern Sindh province, whereas southwestern Balochistan province, which boasts a 700-kilometer (435-mile) coastline, shares a meager portion of nearly 4,000 hectares.
"We witnessed a decline of mangrove forest from 600,000 hectares along the Sindh coastline in the early 20th century to merely 46,000 hectares in the mid-1980s. However, the cover area of mangroves has increased to over 200,000 hectares along the Sindh and Balochistan coastline over the past two decades," Rasheed said.
Due to the "well-coordinated" plantation and rehabilitation campaigns by the Sindh Forest Department the federal government, WWF-Pakistan, and civil society organizations, the country's mangrove cover is increasing at a "good pace," he went on to say.
A host of projects by WWF-Pakistan alone have contributed 16,000 hectares to the country's overall mangrove cover, apart from the rehabilitation of 32,000 hectares, he added.
Danger still lurking
Mangroves, a group of trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines, are significantly important for ecosystems and are considered the first line of defense against cyclones, strong surges, tsunamis, and other natural calamities.
The Sindh coast, particularly the port city of Karachi, has been reeling from a relentless process of morphological changes mainly due to anthropogenic activities including industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation, rapid industrialization, urbanization, and land degradation in addition to natural processes.
Industrial and economic infrastructure development, land-grabbing and inhabitation along the coast, and the construction of huts at beaches have adversely impacted the marine ecosystems and mangroves of the adjoining creeks, say environmentalists.
Making matters worse, some natural phenomena such as high energy waves, tidal currents, and strong winds during monsoons have also influenced changes along the coast.
Acknowledging a "rapid" increase in mangrove cover in the country, Hammad Gilani, a Lahore-based environmentalist, nonetheless observed that the danger is still lurking.
"Mangroves along Pakistan's coastal belt and Indus Delta are still facing two key threats in the form of sea intrusion and degradation," Gilani, a researcher at the International Water Management Institute in Lahore, told Anadolu Agency.
"Deforestation (of mangroves) is not a big problem. But degradation, which includes some justifiable livestock needs, is really an issue," he argued.
He noted that rising sea levels have long been wreaking havoc on mangroves, especially in the Indus Delta, from where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea.
Also, mangroves require a systematic flow of fresh water, which unfortunately does not persist at the moment, he said.
Gilani noted that the South Asian country has seen a rapid augmentation in mangrove cover after the 2010 massive floods, which, although inundating a fifth of Pakistan, made up for a freshwater shortage.
Sharing a similar view, Rasheed said: "To keep the momentum going, we have to create awareness among the masses, and especially the policymakers, about the environmental significance of the mangroves and reinforce how important they are as the threat is not over yet."
Bulwark against sea battering
Thick mangroves have long protected Karachi and its coastal communities from erosion caused by the Arabian Sea's unending waves, observed Shabina Faraz, a Karachi-based expert, who often writes on the environment.
However, she added, the fragile ecosystem faces numerous threats, from coastal development, urbanization, and encroachment to the commercial exploitation of mangroves, reduction of freshwater flows and sedimentation, erosion of coastal areas, chemical dumping, and raw sewage.
"Karachi city alone contributes 500 million gallons of untreated water to the sea. Apart from that, polluted water from 6,000 industries also contributes high-impact pollutants to the Arabian sea that negatively affect the mangrove ecosystem and marine fauna," she maintained, speaking to Anadolu Agency.
Gilani, the Lahore-based expert, said that despite an increasing mangrove cover, satellite imagery has punctuated the need for national-scale carbon sequestration reporting for a performance-based payment mechanism flowing from developed countries to developing ones.
Seconding his view, Faraz said carbon sequestration reporting could add to the national economy "significantly."
- Jan 25, 2024
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Free wild, fruit plants distributed to the locals in Kalash Valley, Chitral..
The Kalash women and children were given around 4500 fruit plants and wild plants.By Sameer Tahir .
Thousands of plants of various types were given among the local inhabitants at Kalash Valley Bumburate in order to increase forest cover and offer new livelihood alternatives in Chilghoza Landscape in the Chitral range.
The Kalash women and children were given around 4500 fruit plants as well as wild plants.
The plants were distributed at a ceremony at Bumborat, with Divisional Forest Officer Chitral Farhad Ali as the principal guest.
On the occasion, Ejaz Ahmed, Provincial Coordinator of the GEF Chilghoza Project, Ziaur Rehman, Value Chain Development Specialist, and Shahzad Ahmad, Deputy Forest Manager of Chitral, were also present.
Ejaz Ahmed, speaking at the event, said that the distribution of fruit plants was part of a GEF-funded project called "Reversing Deforestation and Degradation in High Conservation Value Chilgoza Pine Forests in Pakistan," which was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Forest Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The initiatives aim to improve local livelihoods by increasing productivity and improving the services and functions of Pakistan's Chilghoza forests.
Through the active participation of local communities, the project brings roughly 30,000 hectares of Chilghoza woods under sustainable forest management. 3600 hectares will be used for Assisted Natural Regeneration, while 800 hectares will be used for agro-forestry and farm forestry.
- Jan 25, 2024
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Trees Provide Income and Preserve Land in Pakistan
Under the ADB-funded Sustainable Livelihood in Barani Areas Project, farmers in Punjab province are growing trees, such as eucalyptus, as a cash crop on rain-fed lands. Photo: Mohammad Ismail Khan/ ADB.
A sustainable livelihood project in Pakistan is boosting poor farmers' income and protecting their land from erosion.
In Rahdari village in Punjab's Khushab district, farmers have taken up growing trees as a cash crop on barani, or rain-fed lands, where yields were often uncertain and usually poor.
"It's like a bank account but with a difference," says a beaming Ramzan, 36, referring to the trees he planted 5 years ago on half a hectare of land. "You water the trees and see them grow every day. And when you need the cash, you cut the tree and sell the wood."
"A friend of mine has bought a car by selling wood and now earns money from the car by using it as a taxi," added Ramzan. "Many other families that I know are now able to send their children to school thanks to the additional income provided by the trees."
This was not always the case. Parts of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, suffer frequent droughts and low crop yields. Not long ago, the Khushab district was a barren land threatened by the advancing desert where wood was a rare commodity. An ADB project, however, has been literally planting seeds of change in the area. The results are now plain for all to see.
Changing the barani landscape
Loss of productive land to water and wind erosion often threatened the food security of villagers in Punjab. Widespread loss of shrub and vegetation in the sandy pastures also made livestock production challenging.
Against such a dismal backdrop, an ADB project presented a community-based development model, involving the communities and government and non-government organizations as implementers. The goal of the Sustainable Livelihood in Barani Areas Project was to raise the quality of life of the poorest and most vulnerable families in the targeted areas.
"The first time I came here to meet the communities was about 5 years ago. I was astonished to see the barren land except for some bushes and old trees, locally called kagali, here and there. It was like a treeless plateau that came to life once a year when and if it rained," says Ghulam Rasool, regional manager of the National Rural Support Program. Rasool is from the Hunza region in the northern most part of Pakistan, an equally dry but mountainous region where communities religiously plant and protect trees as life-nourishing assets.
"But now every family sets aside a piece of land for planting trees. This practice not only stabilizes the sand dunes, but also gives them cash and food security," he says, pointing to the rows of eucalyptus across the rolling sand dunes.
Villagers along the Chenab-Jhelum link canal in Noorpur Thal, Khushab district benefited in particular from planting eucalyptus. Ground water level had risen after the canal was built about a decade ago in the sandy region. Eucalyptus, a fast-growing and water-consuming plant, helped keep the water table down for over 26,000 farmers in waterlogged areas. The farmers planted saplings on more than 2,000 hectares of sandy fields and shelter beds.
"Planting trees on 1 acre saved 5 acres of land (about 2 hectares). Besides, the income these plants are providing are vital for me and my family," says 82-year-old farmer Allah Yar, who is now sick and unable to work in the fields. His son sold some trees for 29 thousand rupees to buy medicine for Yar and other needs of the family.
The plantations have increased fodder supply for cattle. Many villagers also use the wood as fuel for heating in winter and for cooking purposes. Following the project's success, villagers planted more than 1,000 hectares with their own resources in the Noorpur Thal area alone. Many of these have been leased to the matchstick and pulp industry as captive plantations.
- Jan 25, 2024
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PM Imran launches Pakistan's first smart forest in Sheikhupura
Dawn.com
August 25, 2021
Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan's first smart forest in Sheikhupura. — DawnNewsTV
Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated on Wednesday Pakistan's first smart forest in Rakh Jhok Forest, Sheikhupura as part of Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, which he said would address a host of issues, contribute an estimated $40 billion to the country's economy and create around one million jobs.
According to Radio Pakistan, the smart forest project will function via sensors and a surveillance system.
Addressing the forest's inauguration ceremony, the premier dubbed the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project "one of the biggest projects in Pakistan's history", and one that would significantly contribute to addressing environmental and other challenges faced by the country.
For this reason, he said, the project held significance for the entire country.
"This will be an exemplary project," the prime minister said. "It will change Pakistan and its environment."
Sharing more details about the smart forest, he said technology would be used to monitor the growth of almost every plant under this scheme and relevant authorities would be intimated via sensors if a tree was being cut down.
"Ten million trees will be planted [in the smart forest] through proper planning for the first time in Pakistan."
He further elaborated that Pakistan's biggest issue was water shortage and since it was among the countries most affected by climate change, planting trees and projects such as the smart forest could help address the issue.
Prime Minister Imran Khan added that the initiative, apart from increasing tree cover, would also help attract tourists.
He added that three barrages would be built on Ravi River under the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, as a result of which the level of groundwater, which was dropping, would rise and once the construction of the project was started, other related industries would also get a boost.
The premier said the project's execution was quite challenging and had it been easy, the project would have been completed by previous governments.
"But [Chief Minister Usman] Buzdar's team will complete it as they are committed to the purpose," he assured.
Addressing the chief minister, he said, "I know that your team will come across multiple challenges in the execution of this project, but you should remain prepared to address all of them and see through the project."
At the outset of his speech, the prime minister said, "If we want to leave behind a better Pakistan for our future generation, we must make our country green."
"I have seen forests being destroyed in Pakistan before my eyes," he lamented, adding that the country also suffered the loss of wildlife along with disappearing forests.
He recalled that while he was growing up in Lahore, the city's residents would get sweet water and drank tap water.
"But the pollution witnessed today in Lahore is unprecedented, posing health risks to the elderly and children, and all of the city's sewage is dumped in Ravi [River]," he said. "And since the sewage is not treated, it contaminates groundwater."
According to the prime minister, 640 million trees had been planted across Pakistan until 2013.
"Whereas we planted one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between 2013 and 2018, within a span of just five years," he said, adding that his government's target was to plant 10 billion trees in the country.
Dawn.com
August 25, 2021
Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan's first smart forest in Sheikhupura. — DawnNewsTV
Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated on Wednesday Pakistan's first smart forest in Rakh Jhok Forest, Sheikhupura as part of Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, which he said would address a host of issues, contribute an estimated $40 billion to the country's economy and create around one million jobs.
According to Radio Pakistan, the smart forest project will function via sensors and a surveillance system.
Addressing the forest's inauguration ceremony, the premier dubbed the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project "one of the biggest projects in Pakistan's history", and one that would significantly contribute to addressing environmental and other challenges faced by the country.
For this reason, he said, the project held significance for the entire country.
"This will be an exemplary project," the prime minister said. "It will change Pakistan and its environment."
Sharing more details about the smart forest, he said technology would be used to monitor the growth of almost every plant under this scheme and relevant authorities would be intimated via sensors if a tree was being cut down.
"Ten million trees will be planted [in the smart forest] through proper planning for the first time in Pakistan."
He further elaborated that Pakistan's biggest issue was water shortage and since it was among the countries most affected by climate change, planting trees and projects such as the smart forest could help address the issue.
Prime Minister Imran Khan added that the initiative, apart from increasing tree cover, would also help attract tourists.
He added that three barrages would be built on Ravi River under the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, as a result of which the level of groundwater, which was dropping, would rise and once the construction of the project was started, other related industries would also get a boost.
The premier said the project's execution was quite challenging and had it been easy, the project would have been completed by previous governments.
"But [Chief Minister Usman] Buzdar's team will complete it as they are committed to the purpose," he assured.
Addressing the chief minister, he said, "I know that your team will come across multiple challenges in the execution of this project, but you should remain prepared to address all of them and see through the project."
At the outset of his speech, the prime minister said, "If we want to leave behind a better Pakistan for our future generation, we must make our country green."
"I have seen forests being destroyed in Pakistan before my eyes," he lamented, adding that the country also suffered the loss of wildlife along with disappearing forests.
He recalled that while he was growing up in Lahore, the city's residents would get sweet water and drank tap water.
"But the pollution witnessed today in Lahore is unprecedented, posing health risks to the elderly and children, and all of the city's sewage is dumped in Ravi [River]," he said. "And since the sewage is not treated, it contaminates groundwater."
According to the prime minister, 640 million trees had been planted across Pakistan until 2013.
"Whereas we planted one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between 2013 and 2018, within a span of just five years," he said, adding that his government's target was to plant 10 billion trees in the country.
- Jan 25, 2024
- 111,083
- 353
- 1,000
- Jan 25, 2024
- 111,083
- 353
- 1,000
- Jan 25, 2024
- 111,083
- 353
- 1,000
- Jan 25, 2024
- 111,083
- 353
- 1,000
COPHC in Gwadar planted thousands of trees in the port area
The Company has developed 5 green Parks in the last two years.
They made "Long live Pakistan and China" with trees, symbolizing the friendship last forever.
The Company has developed 5 green Parks in the last two years.
They made "Long live Pakistan and China" with trees, symbolizing the friendship last forever.
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