President Urges Young Generation To Take Part In Efforts To Reverse Global Warming, Pollution Impacts

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2021 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday urged the young generation to play their dynamic role in the government's ongoing massive Ten Billion Tree Tsunami campaign and reverse the degenerating effects of the global warming and environmental pollution.

Addressing a ceremony of monsoon tree plantation drive held here at the green area adjacent to Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said the onus to keep the environment clean and green now vested with the young generation.

He expressed the confidence that the young generation would carry this burden and secure the country's future and preserve its natural beauty.

He said that it was essential to plant more trees to help mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change as well as provide clean and healthy environment to the people and succeeding generations.

The president said, the scenic natural resorts of the northern areas of the country attracted millions of tourists who should be educated to keep the environment clean and refrain from spreading pollution.

Pakistan's ecosystem was under persistent threat of depletion due to climate change, global warming and deforestation, he said and stressed upon the collective efforts to plant maximum number of trees to enhance the forest cover in the country.

The president said that climate change and global warming were causing glacial melts and flash floods in various parts of the world and the challenge needed to be overcome by planting more trees and adopting environment friendly practices.

He stressed upon adoption of environment friendly habits at the country's scenic and tourists' spots by properly disposing trash and garbage.

On the occasion, the president along with Begum Samina Alvi also planted saplings of Chir pine (Pinus Roxburghii) in the monsoon season under Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme.

Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, Special Assistant to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, officials of the ministry of Climate Change (MoCC), volunteers and students from various educational institutions participated in the tree plantation drive.

Sharing his past experiences prior to becoming the president, he said that they had distributed 100,000 saplings among different households of Karachi, besides, they also gave away 100,000 seeds laden pencils among the younger students asking them to plant them in pots, so that plants could sprout out as part of their activities to create motivation.

The president noted that human footprints had proved heavy on nature as the indiscriminate use of pesticides and insecticides had already eliminated a large number of insects which played vital role in the pollination process.

He also lauded efforts of the both minister and the SAPM concerned in spearheading the tree plantation drive.

The president said the government's efforts and strategy over Covid 19 and tree plantation drive had proved very successful and acknowledged by the world.

Earlier, SAPM Malik Amin Aslam briefed the president about the ongoing monsoon tree plantation drive under Ten Billion Tree Tsunami (TBTTP).

He informed that under Pakistan's largest monsoon plantation drive-2021, over 500 million trees would be planted across the country including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan in different phases.

He apprised that during Phase-I of TBTTP, from 2018 to 2023, 3.296 billion trees would be planted which would greatly help in conserving biodiversity, increasing forest cover and mitigating the impacts of global warming.

In order to support government's tree plantation drive, students from various educational institutions volunteered to plant almost 10,000 saplings inside presidency's premises to increase the forest cover of the country.