LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) is working to plant over 25 million trees during this year to boost Lahore’s low tree cover to 7 percent, confirmed its director general on Sunday.

Known as the city of gardens, Lahore today has a green cover of less than 1 percent, in stark contrast to New Delhi’s 23.6 percent and Beijing’s 44.9 percent, mainly due to rapid urbanization.

In response to critical deforestation levels, the PHA held several rounds of discussions with stakeholders to identify suitable empty areas around the city for tree planting.

Subsequently, the department, responsible for maintaining Lahore’s green spaces, launched an ambitious plantation drive targeting 25 million saplings—a substantial increase from the 1.5 million planted in less green neighborhoods last year.

“Planting millions of trees across the city is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, address the climate crisis, and control the rising summer temperatures,” Muhammad Tahir Wattoo, the director general, told the press. The PHA has also partnered with private businesses and philanthropic organizations to support the initiative, he added.

According to Wattoo, this monsoon season, the PHA plans to plant over half a million trees in areas including Jallo More, China Scheme, Shahdara, and Ring Road. He recalled that the department is also overseeing more than 50 urban forests across the city. Such forests grow 10 times faster, are 30 times denser, and feature 100 times more biodiversity than traditional forests.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024