Daily Times

KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has asked for the allocation Rs 100 million for plantation of 10 million trees under a three yeas project staring from August 2017, officials of KMC informed.

Keiko Nagai, senior operation officer of World Bank in his address at a seminar on ‘Climate Change in Region’ had urged the city authorities for planting trees in order to save the environment from severe hot spells.

“How does climate and weather impact your business and you”, he described.

The experts on Climate Change also highlighted the importance of trees and their impact on the lives of human and other creatures in their address.

It was also informed in the seminar that in the last ten years, Karachi and its surrounding areas have witnessed the cutting down of some 162,000 trees due to construction of new development projects.

Waseem Akthar, in the backdrop of this seminar prepared has made a plan with the consultations of climate and horticulture experts.

He presented a proposal ‘Green City’ to Sindh government in this regard and has asked funding to make the tree plantation project a success.

Waseem has suggested that the areas within main city and outskirts should be given top priority under tree plantation drive.

He also emphasised the importance of engaging of school, college, universities students and staff besides non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the tree plantation programme.

Tahir Qureshi, an expert on forest affairs and senior adviser to International Union for Conversation of Nature was of the view that there was a dire need of millions of trees to be planted across three costal areas of city.

Besides roadside tree planting is also necessary for the change and government should implement the Environment Act 1992 in letter and spirit, he urged.

It is a surprise that during the spring season, the city areas depict a deserted look without any bloom, which can largely be attributed to the absence of trees.

National Highway Authority and Frontier Works Organisation have chopped down more than 6,000 fully grown and matured trees along Super Highway to construct M-9 section of Motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad.

More than 18,000 trees have been uprooted from different sites of undergoing development projects in Karachi by Local Government Development Project Directorate.

Giving a chronological progression of uprooting trees, Naeem Qureshi, an environmental activist and head of National Forum for Environment and Health said thousands of indigenous trees such as Laal Badaam (Indian almond), Imli (tamarind), Neem, Peepal, Gulmohar, Amaltas have been chopped down by the builders who are turning this city into a concrete jungle.

Corporate sector and philanthropists of the city can also help generously in all respects in this connection so that a fresh look to roads and main streets of city could be given by planting trees.

Department of Forest can also provide saplings and environment-friendly trees to civic bodies according to their respective demands.