Creditably for it the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched a "Green and Clean Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" initiative to increase the province's forest cover by planting some two billion saplings over the next five years and banning tree cutting; and generating energy from clean, renewable sources. Unlike the routine annual tree plantation drives, this one promises to be more productive aimed as it is to turn the activity into a tourism promotional project as well as employment generation. Some 30,000 acres of barren land is to be converted into forests, the number of existing public parks doubled, and new ones built in all districts. And in order to encourage a meaningful public involvement, interest-free loans are to be made available to youth under a green credit scheme. Trees, of course, are the best insurance against environmental degradation since they counteract Co2 emissions, prevent soil erosion and floods, and preserve ecological balance.
To augment its ambitious plan for cleaner environment the KPK government is looking to set up solar power projects and small hydel power stations, introduce solar tube wells scheme, launch a mass transit project (thereby reducing the volume of vehicular traffic) and an efficient traffic control system. It indeed, is an extremely pleasing plan. Translating it into reality requires determination, and of course a lot of money that is not there. But Chief Minister Pervez Khattak says he has a plan for that too. He told a meeting of provincial legislators and private owners of forests that funding can be arranged from both domestic and foreign financial institutions. Also, he wants the example of India emulated here, pointing out that Indian states with large forest cover get extra funds. He said the federal government should similarly allocate special funds for forestation. That, in fact, would incentivize the other provinces as well to pay serious attention to the problem of growing environmental degradation.
So far it remains a low priority issue in other provinces even though Pakistan is known to be one of the highest risk countries vis-a-vis global warming and the consequent changing weather patterns. Already effects of changes are beginning to be felt. During the recent years, this country has seen some of the worst floods in all the four provinces. There are other ominous signs of change. This year the winters started late, the spring season has stayed long, and unusually heavy rains have come at the wrong time, destroying wheat crops in many areas. Environmental scientists warn of alternating spells of disastrous floods and droughts in not-too-distant a future, unless drastic measures are adopted to forestall the dire consequences of global warming. Hopefully, the world's major polluters - the US, China and India - will agree on Co2 emission cuts at the September summit and sign a global climate pact at a follow-up summit in Paris towards the end of next year. Pakistan with a relatively small carbon footprint of its own may not have a significant role to play in the emissions cut debate, but it certainly has to worry about the issue within the domestic context. Hopefully, KPK government will successfully implement its cleaner environment plan, and other provinces too will follow suit.
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