Daily Times

In line with the government’s vision of “Clean and Green Pakistan,” Pakistan Navy, on Monday, launched “Pakistan Navy Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2019.”The fourth instalment entailed an effort to plant about two million mangroves in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

Coast Commander, Vice Admiral Fayyaz Gillani, graced the occasion as Chief Guest and inaugurated the plantation campaign by planting saplings of mangroves at Port Bin Qasim.

He highlighted that the Mangroves Plantation Campaign offered a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our unique relationship with nature. The commander called mangroves instrumental in fending-off adverse effects of coastal hazards, spurred by the climatic changes.

As a national responsibility for a contribution towards a healthy environment and being a major stakeholder for the protection of the maritime domain, he continued, Pakistan Navy had embarked upon a major initiative to preserve and revive mangroves forests along the coastal belt.

During the last three years, it had planted over four million mangroves in the coastal belt of Sindh and Balochistan, he maintained.

Vice Admiral Gillani further noted that deforestation of mangroves had not only distorted the biodiversity of our coastal areas but also adversely affected the livelihoods of coastal communities.

Therefore, he called it imperative to forestall deforestation through integrated institutionalised measures to ensure sustainable development.

The commander underscored that the plantation campaign was being launched with the vision to not only increase the mangrove cover but also play a key role in creating awareness among the masses in this regard.

Urging the federal and provincial departments; the industrial community and individuals to join hands with Pakistan Navy in this noble cause, Vice Admiral Gillani emphasised that the whole nation should stand together to make this campaign a success. It should unitedly preserve this precious gift of nature for the sustainable development of our today and especially for our future generations, he concluded.

Others present on the occasion included Country Representative of International Union for Conservation of Nature, Mahmood Akhtar Cheema and a large number of senior military and civil officials including World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Fishery Folk Society and officials from Forest Departments.