Environmentalist Urges Nationwide Drive To Expand Green Cover

News Desk

Islamabad: We have a government-issued day known as National Plantation Day, which can be declared on August 12th, 2023. This effort can be used to mobilise communities for the cause of plantation as a communal, national and global cause, stated Environmentalist Shahida Kausar.

Subh-e-Nau Chairperson Shahida Kausar Farooq has urged the Prime Minister to proclaim a National Plantation Day in order to launch a nationwide campaign to plant as many trees as possible in support of a green and environmentally friendly Pakistan.

She has written a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to declare a special plantation day with the goal of directing the nation’s attention towards preserving and enhancing the greenery around it which would aid in the fight against heat waves and global warming.

The environmentalist emphasised that because of the unequal distribution of natural resources, the poor and marginalised are the most vulnerable to climate change. For inclusive development, she continued, it is crucial for the government to make sure that its policies met the needs of everyone who have been ignored or left behind.

To stop the growing concrete jungles in the country’s metropolitan centres, Farooq suggested that the government create specific incentives for both public and private organisations and corporations to plant trees.

Chairperson further said that urban forestry must also be fostered and the promotion of indigenous species of plants should be part and parcel of all plantation campaigns across the country.

Moreover, a proper allocation for scientific expertise involving identification, growth, and preservation of such species should also be ensured, Kausar added.

Shahida added that experts in agriculture, local ecology and botany should be involved in the plantation of such species so that funds are not wasted on exotic or geographically misplaced trees.