Key points
- Both leaders urge promotion of nature-based solutions
- This is not simply about planting trees; it is about creating healthier communities: Zardari
- Premier Shehbaz says forest cover to be increased
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched an initiative to plant 41 million saplings on Monday during the ongoing monsoon season to fight climate change.
In their separate messages on the launch of the nationwide Monsoon Tree Plantation Drive, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a collective response to climate change through the advancement of the Green Pakistan Programme – a national initiative dedicated to fostering environmental sustainability through grassroots mobilisation.
According to Radio Pakistan, President Zardari said, “At this critical time, when climate change has already brought destruction to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country through floods and cloudbursts, we must act decisively to plant more and more trees.”
Nature-based solutions
He said the Green Pakistan Programme is a national initiative to expand forest cover, rehabilitate degraded lands, restore the balance of nature, and promote nature-based solutions.
The President said the well-being and progress of any nation are grounded in the preservation of its forests and natural environment.
“This is not simply about planting trees; it is about creating healthier communities, protecting livelihoods, and ensuring a climate-resilient future for generations to come,” President Secretariat Press Wing, in a press release, quoted the president as saying.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his message, said the government is committed to the tree plantation campaign and it is utilising all available means to increase the forest cover.
Sense of responsibility
He urged the people to develop a sense of responsibility to fulfil this important national, environmental and climate duty.
The prime minister said the tree plantation, with its positive impact on human life, plays a key role in the conservation and growth of the country’s invaluable natural resources, flora and fauna.
