ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The government on Friday launched a tree plantation campaign in the country setting a target of planting over 39.5 million saplings in the monsoon season, officials in the ministry of environment and Capital Development Authority (CDA) told Dawn.

President General Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the campaign by planting a sapling in Rawalpindi. However, the campaign will formally be kicked-off by the Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Saturday at Fatima Jinnah Park.

The officials said the provincial forest department and CDA had made adequate arrangements to provide saplings of indigenous species to the interested farmers and general public.

About 200,000 saplings will be planted in the urban, forests and rural areas of the capital during the drive, they added.

They said Pakistan had five per cent of its total area under forest cover which was quite meagre to meet timber and fuel wood needs of the growing population in the country.

The ministry of environment, they said, was also in the process of formulating a project entitled ‘afforestation through farmers; a package of incentives’.

This project will be launched all over the country in the next seven years (2003-10) with an estimated cost of Rs1.15 billion and Rs125 million be spent on the programme during the current year.

The officials said, in order to provide research back-up support to the forestry sector, the government had approved another project ‘forestry sector research and development’ at a total cost of Rs193.5 million for a period of five years.

For the current year, the environment ministry has chalked out a detailed tree plantation plan to involve the concerned government departments as well as the private sector, particularly the farmers.

All the concerned departments of the ministry and other attached departments have been asked to put in maximum to make the campaign a success as last year the target could not be met owing to drought.

President Musharraf, Prime Minister Jamali and Environment Minister Maj Tahir Iqbal (retired) have urged people, in their messages, to fully participate in the Monsoon Tree Plantation Campaign 2003 and utilize all available resources to make it a success.

The officials said, during the campaign, the Punjab forest department will plant 16 million saplings, Sindh seven million, the NWFP 10 million and the AJK forest department will plant four million saplings.

The Balochistan forest department, Soil Conservation Directorate, Capital Development Authority, Watershed Management Mangla (Wapda), Rachna Doab Afforestation Project and Pakistan Tobacco Company will also contribute as per share allocated to them in the campaign.

Contrary to last year’s failure in achieving the tree plantation target, it is hoped, this year’s target would positively be achieved due to sufficient rains.

The officials said NGOs, trade unions and around 800 school children would participate in the drive on Saturday jointly organized by ministry of environment and CDA.

With the government extending all possible facilities to improve environmental conditions in the country, it is now responsibility of every citizen to support the government to ensure an environment friendly future for the coming generations, they added.