An Initiative To Combat Deforestation, Climate Change

News Desk

Peshawar: Kamal Khan, a 27-year-old progressive farmer from the Nowshera district, is currently planting poplar seedlings on his bare land as part of the ‘Plant for Pakistan’ initiative to generate a sizable income and contribute to the fight against deforestation.

“My land was severely damaged by the disastrous flood last year which caused the soil’s salinity to rise and render it unusable for agricultural purposes.

In order to quickly get economic benefits, I made the decision to take advantage of the government’s ‘Plant for Pakistan’ initiative and began planting the quickly growing ‘poplar’ species on my six-acre property,” said 26-year-old farmer of village Mohib Banda located on the bank of River Kabul.

Kamal Khan stated, “I have also planted the specie on the banks of watercourses and in the demarcated areas to counter soil erosion. Each poplar plant costs about Rs20, which after six to seven years yields about Rs4,000 to Rs5000 per tree.

Currently, 50 kg of poplar wood is being sold at Rs 500 to Rs 600 in the local market of Peshawar and Nowshera, where a farmer can earn millions of rupees after a little investment on a few acres in a short time.”

National Forest Policy 2015 stated that due to a high rate of deforestation, demand for wood, and social inequities, Pakistan was losing around 27,000 hectares of forests year. The policy showed that forest resources in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were under severe pressure, particularly in community and privately owned natural forests.

According to the report, in addition to causing land degradation and biodiversity loss, deforestation in watershed areas was also having a negative influence on agricultural output and water quality at outlets.

Deforestation and climate change-related weather patterns, such as heavy rains, floods, and glacier melt, pose the risk of intensifying seawater intrusion in riparian, low-lying, and coastal areas.

The Met Office spokesman informed that Pakistan recorded 77 per cent below normal rainfall in February last year compared to the total normal downpour due to climate change-induced weather patterns. Likewise, 67 per cent less rainfall was recorded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 36 per cent less in GB, 54 percent less in KP, and 90 per cent less in Punjab, while there was no rainfall in Sindh or Balochistan.

About the rainfall status, the official said from October 2022 till date, about 135 inches of snowfall were recorded in Malam Jabba, 122 inches in Kalam in Swat, 66 inches in Astore, 51 inches at Babusar Top, 36 inches in Murree, 35 inches in Chitral, 24 inches in Ziarat, and 23 inches in Skardu.

According to the National Water Policy 2018, Pakistan was progressively moving towards water stress as a result of weather patterns brought on by climate change and a lack of dams, which could eventually result in food insecurity for living things.

“The per capita surface water availability has decreased from 5,260 cubic metres per year in 1951 to around 1,000 cubic metres in 2016 and this quantity will likely further decrease to 860 cubic metres by 2025,” the policy stated.

The policy warned that the groundwater situation was expected to further deteriorate in the country, mostly in Punjab and Sindh provinces, where one million tube wells were currently pumping about 55-million-acre feet (MAF) of underground water for irrigation, which is 20 percent more than that available from canals.

10 Billion Trees Afforestation (10 BTAP) Project Deputy Project Director Ibrahim Khan said that Pakistan is listed as one of the top ten nations impacted by climate change. The ‘Plant for Pakistan’ is running a spring planting campaign across the province, including the amalgamated tribal areas, where 78.93 million saplings would be planted with help from the government’s building departments, farmers, and the general public.

Ibrahim said the provincial climate change policy 2016, range land policy, and REDD+ strategy have been implemented in the province. He underscored the need for early operationalization of the COP 29 UN fund to help climate change’s vulnerable countries, including Pakistan.

“The country could have 4400 million seedlings planted if everyone planted at least two plants and took good care of them,” said Ibrahim Khan, adding that for technical support and plants for the spring seasons, people might get in touch with the project and Divisional Forest Offices (DFOs) offices in all districts.

It is to mention that REDD+ is a framework created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) to guide activities in the forest sector that reduces emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries.