Students, teachers: Shaping up environmental behaviours govt’s top priority, says SAPM

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister Malik Amin Aslam Monday said that raising environmental awareness for shaping the environmental attitudes of students and teachers by promoting the principles of sustainable environmental management is of vital for achieving environmental and forest resources’ conservation and protection.

Addressing a signing ceremony of the Letter of Understanding between the climate change ministry and the Beachonhouse college programme held here today, the PM’s aide emphasized the importance of educational institutions towards the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for clean and green Pakistan and promoting the national concept of engaging youth as environmental champions.

Both sides agreed to utilize all-out resources to achieve Clean and Green Pakistan vision of the present government and launch joint activities to raise awareness about environmental protection and forest conservation among the country’s youth, so that they would play their vital role as environmental heroes and champions.

SAPM Malik Amin Aslam said that the incumbent government is very much aware of the unprecedented importance of the youth powerhouse’s role in achieving the country’s overall sustainable development goals.

“Today’s youth are the hope for making Pakistan environmentally-sustainable and climate-resilient though promotion and adoption of sustainable lifestyle, where environmental degradation has not place in our lives,” he stressed. “Therefore, preparing and motivating them to play their part in the country’s overall environmental sustainable development and pushing forward with the PM Imran Khan’s world-acclaimed vision for clean and green Pakistan,” Malik Amin maintained.

He also highlighted that the management of natural resources including water, forest and soil puts new tasks before educational institutes of the country in implementing the idea of sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

However, importance of sustainable management and use of the natural resources, including forests, must be highlighted among the students at the educational institute by realising environmental, economic and social benefits, the PM’s aide Malik Amin said.

After signing ceremony of the Letter of Understanding (LoU), he said that this initiative would help encourage students of the private school system with large network of the branches of school and colleges all over the country, to join the government’s Clean Green Pakistan Movement and TBTTP as environmental champions

The College students would have also the opportunity to Clean Green Champions national level competition to spearhead climate action for achieving the goal of environmentally-safe and climate-resilient Pakistan.

The PM’s aide highlighted that there were almost 100,000 students listed in this private school chain and their joining PM Imran Khan’s the Clean Green Pakistan campaign would surely help shift their energies towards environmental-friendly activities of nature preservation for resilient lifestyle.

He said the Spring plantation drive under TBTTP would set off on Feb 22, where over 7,50,000 scouts from all across the country would be joining plantation activities to achieve the largest plantation target of 540 million trees from February to April.

Executive Director Beaconhouse College Programme (BCP) Nassir Kasuri, addressing the signing ceremony, said, “BCP is excited to join hands with the government for PM Imran Khan’s globally-recognised Clean Green Initiative for pedalling climate action and promoting nature conservation efforts of the incumbent government.

He added that the College was already promoting awareness and education to its students and faculty on climate change. “We wanted to join the Ministry of Climate Change under its framework for a structured and well-coordinated effort on environmental preservation at the national level.”

He hoped that the LoU would help the students to engage in positive activities and enhance their information on nature conservation under the expertise of the ministry. Under the LoU, the BCP would have the responsibility to provide the required number of its O and A levels volunteer students, for CGPM and TBTTP ongoing and future initiatives, subject to the consent of parents or guardians.

Moreover, the Institution would also assist the Ministry in the social outreach, content writing and media activities, along with collaboration in all departments such as administration, management, media and publications as per the requirement.

Under the LoU, the BCP would also make efforts to engage it’s 45,000 to 50,000 participants nationwide to plant approximately 100,000 trees, provided by MOCC, over the time period of five years. It was underlined that the tree plantation campaign would initiate from Islamabad with 1,500 students involved from across 6 branches of BCP in Islamabad during the Monsoon Plantation under TBTTP.

The Ministry would acknowledge the efforts of the participants through certificates and recommendation letters for this specific activity under the banner of CGPM and TBTTP and also provide support in carrying out activities, said the SAPM Malik Amin.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022