THE media has recently carried some very refreshing news. First, New Zealand declared its Whanganui River, revered by the native Maori, as a ‘living being.’ Then, India followed suit by bestowing the same honour on the River Ganges. One is sure that the two rivers will now be accorded more respect.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there is all this hype about a billion trees’ plantation, the nitty-gritty of which is little known to the public. In all seriousness, the project looks to be more fanciful than realistic. The powers-that-be, in order to prove the reality of the project to their political adversaries, could be observed doing so many unnecessary things in utter haste. Such haste could only lead to wasteful expenditure, which will further shake public confidence in what the politicians claim to be doing for their betterment.

From the day the idea of a billion trees was first coined, it left little doubt in one’s mind that the idea was the result of some kind of a state of megalomania. The dread started to look real when unprecedented publicity for the project was unleashed. The proponents of the idea could have done much better with all the resources at their disposal. The best course would have been to go say, for planting 10 million trees of good fibre and then ensuring that plantations get full care and prove to be a good heritage for the posterity.

Instead, the project stipulated 23pc cent of the plantation to consist of eucalyptus and other trees of the same species like poplar. Eucalyptus is known for its unrestrained avarice as it sucks water in excess from the soil leading to depletion of the water table, especially in Khyber Pakhtinkhwa’s south where the average water table is 200 feet below the surface. Eucalyptus is an antidote for the waterlogged areas, and not for desert and semi-desert terrain of KP’s southern districts.

The loss could still be minimised if some corrective measures are immediately taken in the interest of protecting biodiversity and leaving a robust heritage for the coming generations.

Nasser Yousaf

Abbottabad

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2017