ISLAMABAD: Forest cover in Pakistan is decreasing rapidly causing quick changes to the climate. There is a need for revolutionary steps to increase the forest cover across the country.

This was stated by Shahida Kausar Farooq, the chairperson of Subh-i-Nau, in a statement on the eve of the World Forest Day.

She said forests are the safeguards for any country from natural calamities.

“Pakistan has not learnt the lesson from so many natural calamities in its brief history. According to a report by a UN institution, Pakistan’s forest cover is decreasing rapidly and it stands at 2.66pc of the total land of the country.” Ms Farooq said deforestation had caused many floods and earthquakes resulting in the loss of human lives as well as properties and wildlife.

“We are also facing a shortage of water because rains are not that frequent as they were two to three decades ago, and this is because of the rapid deforestation in the country.”

She said authorities were not taking the issue seriously even though Pakistan was now among the most climate change affected countries. She said there was a need to plant trees on an emergency basis to tackle these effects of climate change.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2018