What happened
Talking to the media at the inauguration ceremony of the spring plantation drive in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged that global warming and greenhouse gas emissions pose huge threats to the country. “Unfortunately, Pakistan is among the top 10 countries at threat from climate change.”
What you should know
He also addressed that the danger Pakistan is facing from deforestation is evident in Lahore. “As a child, I grew up in Lahore. It was called the garden city at that time.” Research suggests that almost 70% of trees in Lahore have been cut down, he revealed. Khan added that pollution in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar is very dangerous for children and the elderly. “The pollution in these cities reduces the average life span of a person by 11 years.”
What solutions did the premier propose
Furthermore, to combat the issue of climate change he proposed numerous solutions stating how the government has identified 50 spots in Lahore and 20 in Islamabad for planting trees. “We have adopted Japan’s Miyawaki technique through which forests grow faster,” the PM said. This means that the forests that took 30 years will now grow in 10 years. He also stated that special courses will be introduced across Pakistan to teach students the importance of forests and trees and the dangers of climate change. In the upcoming days, schools across the country will be given a target of trees to plant and they will be responsible for taking care of that tree as well. The premier concluded that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tree plantation project was appreciated by international agencies such as WWF and it’s time that the trajectory follows in other parts of the country as well.