ISLAMABAD: Emphasising on achieving the tree plantation target under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP), Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan will take the lead in the global efforts for environmental protection.
The prime minister said this while addressing a special event on Green Financing Innovations in the country, organised by the Ministry of Climate Change in connection with World Environment Day on Thursday.
Underlining the importance of environmental protection for a better future for the next generations, he called for establishing national parks and promoting urban forestry. The prime minister said that it is welcoming that people have started developing awareness about tree plantation, and school children are also taking part in the campaign. He said every citizen should contribute to making the country green.
Imran Khan said it is encouraging that mangrove cover has been expanding in Pakistan for the last twenty years. He stressed the need for using new techniques adopted by China to raise forests in the country.
“The country must play its part in saving the world from global warming,” the PM said urging to grow more national forests, increasing the number of trees and investing in urban forestry.
“Pakistan’s future lies in these efforts! We have taken our natural resources for granted, but now is the time [to care for them],” he remarked. The premier warned that if the green cause was ignored today the country will reach a point of no return.
The premier said that Pakistan contributes to global carbon emission less than one percent; however, it is one of the most vulnerable countries in respect of global warming effects due to glacier melting. He said the world started giving attention to the climate change issue about twenty years ago and it is now realising the gravity of the situation.
On the occasion, a joint statement was signed to initiate dialogue with the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada for Pakistan’s first Nature Bond, and the possibility of a “Debt for Nature” swap.
The World Bank’s study on “Blue Carbon” was also presented which, for the first time, gives an economic value to the country’s unvalued marine wealth including Pakistan’s mangroves and sea grasses.
An MoU with China’s Elion group was also signed for piloting green ecological zones in Pakistan. – TLTP
