Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL), Punjab Forest Department and World Wide Funds for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) have completed the 180 acres plantation project at Changa Manga. According to a WWF-P's spokesperson, in this connection, Engro Polymers and Chemical and the Punjab Forest Department organised a ceremony.
The completion of the 180 acres plantation was a part of the project sponsored by Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited to reduce greenhouse gases. The core idea of this 'carbon offset project' is to absorb the greenhouse gases emission and reducing the impact of Engro chemicals on the environment.
Earlier in April, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Punjab Forest Department and Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited to initiate this plantation. The Punjab Forest Department extended co-operation and technical support needed for the implementation of the project, which was monitored by the WWF-P.
On the occasion, CEO of EPCL, Asif Qadir said the key challenges begin from now onwards, ie the survival and maintenance of the established plantation. He also said the survival of plantation would determine the real success of the plantation and they see this project as a long term project and the results of this project would help them in continuing their initiatives by gradually increasing the plantation in different areas of Pakistan.
"We realise our responsibility as a corporate towards cleaning the environment in which we operate and the one we affect. Our vision is to work on greener and cleaner Pakistan for ourselves and for the upcoming generation," he added
Secretary Forest, Major (Retd) Azam Suleiman Khan said the Punjab Forest Department is pleased to have established this partnership with the private sector to enhance tree cover of the province. He also said the step of Engro Polymer to take a leading role for raising plantations to mitigate the climate change effects in the country is highly appreciated and they hope this would motivate other companies to contribute towards reducing the greenhouse gases.
Malik Mahboob, Chief Conservator of Forests, said over 40,000 evergreen saplings were planted at a cost of Rs 2.2 millions in Changa Manga, which has been successfully completed. WWF-P Director General, Ali Hassan Habib said this project is very appropriate, as the Government of Pakistan has set a target of increasing forest cover to 5.6 percent in 2010 and 6 percent by 2015 in the Mid Term Development Framework.
"WWF-P congratulates the team and the partners for delivering on the goals," he added. According to the National Forest and Range Resource Assessment Study (NFRRAS) by Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI) in 2004, the total forest cover of Pakistan is only 3.3 million hectares.
The Punjab province has only 3.1 percent of its area under forest, against a prescribed requirement of at least 25 percent to maintain a healthy environmental balance. As per the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Pakistan's annual rate of deforestation is about 2.1 percent, which was the second highest in Asia after Afghanistan.
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