Sir: There are umpteen benefits of trees, and the trees, that we see today, are the product of the seeds that someone planted couple of years ago. Trees play an important role in moderating the climate of any country. Scarcity of trees poses great threat to climate of any country. And we know that climate does not respect national borders, which makes it global challenge. International standard suggests that forestation must be 25 percent of the land of any country. But unfortunately in our country, the total forest area is only 3 percent of the total land. According to some media reports, deforestation of Pakistan is 2.4 per cent per annum, the highest in the Asia. This breakneck speed of deforestation in the country is leading to drastic changes in the region’s weather systems, land and marine biodiversity. To top it all, some unpalatable truths were discovered by Ministry of Climate Change, which says that 1.6 billion tons of CO2 is caused by deforestation, mainly the cutting and burning of forests. To conclude, it is high time we realized the importance of planting trees, as it not only helps in curbing the menace of climate change in the country but also helps in reduction of air and noise pollution .Here an adage goes well, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” ENG IZHAR HUSSAIN SOLANGI Rawalpindi Published in Daily Times, August 22nd 2017.