KARACHI: As part of its commitment to fight global warming, Sindh government has planned to plant over 13,000 acres of forests in the next fiscal year. In the annual budget for the fiscal year of 2018-19, presented on Thursday, the provincial government has allocated funds for this massive tree plantation campaign. According to budget documents, riverine forest will be set up on 10,000 acres across the province. Additionally, plantation will be undertaken on 120 acres irrigated land and along 300 kilometres of roads. The government will raise 20 million container plants and plant mangroves on 3000 acres, besides setting up nurseries on 30 acres. “A massive roadside and amenity planting scheme for the year 2018-19 and onwards has been planned to make roads and cities greener and to reduce climate change effects,” reads the budget document, adding that the scheme is aimed at raising and maintenance of along 6,000 kilometres of road and canals. Addressing the budget session, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said that Pakistan is the seventh on the list of countries most be affected by global warming and has one of the highest deforestation rates in Asia. “Decades of tree cutting has reduced the country’s forests to less than three percent of its ground area. Pakistan’s s total forest area was at 3.3 percent back in 1990 which has fallen to an alarming. 1.9 percent by 2015,” said Shah, adding that the situation should serve as a warning for the authorities, ‘this is a worldwide concern and Pakistan is part of it’. Shah said that the world is going into a new era of ecosystem restoration motivated by the Aichi Targets which include “The Bonn Challenge.” This was set up in 2011 and calls for the restoration of 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. He further said that Pakistan Peoples Party has undertaken plantation drives in the past as well. “As I recollect, in 1970s and from 1993 to 1995 when Syed Abdullah Shah was the chief minister of the province, afforestation was a priority in Sindh. “Massive roadside and riverside plantation, wherever seen today, are landmarks of those good old days,” he said. “During the subsequent periods, this sector has remained low on the priority list for various reasons. The PPP government has once again made it a priority area.” CM Shah said that on the initiative of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, ‘we have successfully achieved the Guinness World Record by planting maximum number of trees in day light from dawn to dusk with a team of 300 volunteers at Juho, Keti Bundar, this year.” “The previous record was also set by the Sindh Forest Department of 847,275 plants. This time, we improved it by 282,019 saplings. “PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto also attended the mangrove plantation campaign at the creek area to show his willingness and support for the noble cause,” Shah said. Published in Daily Times, May 11th 2018.