MULTAN: As authorities across Pakistan are tackling the climate crisis with hundreds of local schemes, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi on Sunday said the government’s initiatives to address the challenge were being appreciated at the international level.
As Pakistan continues its massive drive to plant 10 billion trees to reduce smog, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the nation to heed the dire warnings in a UN climate change report released last week.
Also last week, he inaugurated in Lahore the largest urban Miyawaki forest project in the world. Using a technique pioneered by the late Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, the forest covers 12.5 acres and has more than 165,000 plants.
Officials say the trees are expected to grow 10 times faster than normal due to the Miyawaki technique of planting them close together.
The forest is one of 53 such sites in Lahore that are expected to work as carbon sinks. The city has grappled with smog in recent years that has forced schools to close and earned it a ranking among the world’s most polluted cities.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of tree planting at a ceremony in Multan, the foreign minister observed Prime Minister Imran Khan was paying immense attention to environmental impacts and initiated an ambitious green campaign.
The campaign is heading forward successfully, and Pakistan was leading in the global bid to address the climate question, he said.
Pakistan’s efforts, especially in plantation campaigns, were also recognised by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, Qureshi said.
Prime Minister Imran will also be a keynote speaker at an environmental conference scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia in October. Riyadh invited him to the environment conference, he added.
He added the present government sensitised and created awareness among people about the importance of plantations.
The Foreign Minister also hailed divisional administration for involving all government departments in the campaign.
He, however, urged the public to take part actively in the plantation drive as their participation would lead to unprecedented success.
Qureshi also hailed PHA for matchless work in 62 parks of the city. Lauding the 115-kilometre walking tracks in the parks, Qureshi stated that physical exercise was of vital importance for mental health.
The ceremony was also addressed by officials of the Punjab government.
