KARACHI, Sept 1: Shahida Kausar Farooq, Chairperson of Subhe Nau, has said that tree plantation campaigns should be carried out in consultation with experts whose should guide the campaigners and activists for achieving the desired results.

“It will be of no use if the trees considered to be harmful are planted,” she said while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club here on Thursday.

She said that her organization, an NGO which promotes the cause of environment, prepared its plantation projects with the help of researchers and experts in the field.

The objective of tree plantation drive on August 14 this year was to involve general public in this national drive, she said, and regretted that unfortunately, the environment ministry labelled the campaign as ‘Monsoon Tree Plantation’ and consequently, this had kept ordinary people away from it.

She welcomed the imposition of ‘municipal emergency’, saying that its basic objective was to lift and remove the garbage and waste piling up for years and create a healthy environment for people.

Ms Farooq stressed that this sort of campaigns should not be restricted to a few weeks, but should become continuous process until the attainment of desired results.

She expressed her organization’s views on various projects, and observed that due care was not taken about drainage and other facilities while getting a road constructed. In the ‘Adopt A Park scheme, many parks remained undeveloped while many others had been adopted as ‘personal property’. Similarly, she added, the ‘Save The Sea’ project had not been undertaken in its true spirit.

Recently, the government was given the idea of developing a Jinnah Mangroves Conservation Park. It might prove to be a unique project in Asia, she said, and suggested that it should be undertaken on war-footing to avert disasters like tsunamis.

Ms Farooq recalled that on August 14 this year, her NGO had organized various programmes with due importance attached to plantation. On the occasion, a sapling was planted at the PM’s House, and stalls of plants had been set up at various places in the city where free of cost plants were made available to people with relevant advisory. She said that 70 saplings had been planted on the Karachi University campus along with Vice-Chancellor Pirzada Qasim and other professors while another 2,000 were planted in the Punjab and 300 in Islamabad with the help of the CDA and students.

She underlined the need for creating awareness and interest in people in environment, and said that every person should plant at least one plant whereas the government should take concrete steps for creating an improved environment for the present and future generations.—APP