July 16, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 15: The environment ministry will launch a nationwide programme to accelerate afforestation in the country.

This decision was taken in an inter-provisional/inter- ministerial meeting that was presided over by the state minister for environment, Maj Tahir Iqbal (retired), here on Tuesday.

It was decided that 46.25 million saplings would be planted throughout the country during the Monsoon Tree Plantation Campaign-2003 starting from August 12.

In this regard, all the provinces including AJK and Northern Areas have been asked to furnish PC-I of their respective projects within a week, which will be consolidated to launch an umbrella programme. The programme will be launched throughout the country with the federal government assistance.

The meeting also discussed the achievements of the spring plantation drive. It was informed that except for the Punjab province, the targets of the spring plantation campaign-2003 had been achieved by the federal and provincial departments.

The meeting decided that 46.25 million saplings would be planted during the monsoon season. The Punjab forest department will plant 15 million saplings, Sindh (10 million), NWFP (12.5 million), AJK (5 million) and the remaining will be planted by other departments.

The provincial forest departments were asked to make adequate arrangements for supply of seedlings to the interested farmers.

The chief conservator of forest, Punjab, informed the meeting that tree cover on private farmlands had increased from three trees per acre in 1947 to 18 trees in 2000.

Pakistan has five per cent forest covered area which is too meagre to fulfil timber and firewood needs of the growing population of the country, he added.

Emphasizing on the need for increasing the afforestation rate, the minister said the environment ministry would support the provincial governments in this regard.

He said an inbuilt monitoring system should be developed to provide feedback on the survival of plants. Complete record of each plant will be kept under the ‘Tree Accounting System’, he added.

Mr Iqbal said a survival column would be added to the reports on tree plantation campaigns and each agency would be held responsible for the number of trees which it planted.