Pakistan's Successful TBTTP Initiative Helps Create 100,000 Green Jobs: Survey

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jun, 2021 ) :Pakistan after myriads of efforts to preserve its dwindling forest reserves has successfully generated around 100,000 daily-waged green jobs for local communities through massive plantation and plant nursery generation.

Pakistan was forest deficient country, mainly due to arid and semi-arid climate in large parts of the country where the country was maintaining 4.51 million hectares to 5.01percent area under forest cover, out of which 3.44 million hectares forests exist on state-owned lands and remaining on communal and private lands, said the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2020-21 launched here by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin.

The Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP) was built on successful initiative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP).

However, following the success and confirmation by the independent monitors, the government had decided to set a goal of "10 Billion Tree Plantation" across the country.

The programme was approved by Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) with the project cost of Rs. 125.184 billion. During Phase-I of the programme, plantation and regeneration of 3.29 billion plants would be completed, it added.

According to the Survey, the programme had achieved plantation of about 350 million during July-March Financial Year 2021 and cumulatively had attained 814.671 million plants through regeneration.

Through this programme around 100,000 daily wagers have been employed uptill March 2021 where the government has successfully achieved the target to plant one billion trees in June 2021, it added.

The TBTTP project was expected to deliver environmental dividend in preserving atmospheric health, reducing greenhouse gas effects, lowering cases of random floods, lowering rains, droughts and enhancing other biodiversity supportive actions.

The Survey underscored that it was anticipated that approximately 1.5 million jobs would be created directly or indirectly.

Though the forestry having meager share of 2.1 percent in agriculture, it provided foundations of life on earth through ecological function, regulates the climate and water resources and serves as habitat for plants and animals, it added.

Prior to the TBTTP project launch, rapidly growing population coupled with poverty and lack of awareness was leading to illegal and unsustainable logging and overharvesting of wood for fuel and charcoal continued to cause deforestation. Moreover, forest fires, natural hazards along with pests and diseases further contribute to the declining rate.

All these issues threaten the survival of species, people's livelihoods and undermined the vital services that forests provide. To meet the domestic needs and to maintain the existing forest stand together with meeting need of improving the forest cover.

The Survey highlighted that during Financial Year 2020-21 (July-March) a total of 125,034 hectares of forest area was restored with a total plantation of 814.671 million trees at a cost of Rs 14,670.654 million.

However, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa around 304.24 million trees were planted, 61.5 million trees in Punjab, 323.84 million in Sindh, 5.42 million plantation in Balochistan, 106.937 million in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and 10.734 million in Gilgit Baltistan (GB).