KARACHI: A campaign to plant 1.4 million trees in a year is going on across the country through the active participation of various stakeholders, including local communities, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Paki­stan (WWF-P) announced on Sunday.

In the first phase of the campaign titled Rung Do Pakistan, the organisation has partnered with a local rock band Call, also its Goodwill Ambassadors, to produce a music video with the help of 50 videographers, capturing Pakistan’s diverse landscapes with a strong message for individual action for plantation.

In the second phase of the campaign, a fundraising campaign for the cause would be launched.

“Between 2000 and 2010, Pakistan lost an average of approximately 43,000 hectares of forests (equivalent to half the size of Islamabad) every year. With only two per cent forest cover remaining, the country’s deforestation rate is the highest in Asia, and is well below the recommended cover of 25 per cent.

“Therefore, in order to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, regulate water cycles and increase green cover across the country, WWF-Pakistan pledges to plant a total of 1.4 million trees by August 2019,” says a press release.

The campaign is aimed at contributing towards the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

“It is expected that 1.4 million trees at maturity will sequester 70 million pounds of atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is also estimated that the raising of 1.4 million plants from potted plants, cutting and sowing will generate 8,750 man-days of employment for local people and 1,400 hectares of forest cover will recharge about 1,344 million litres of water annually.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2018