SWABI, Aug 3: Pakistan Science Foundation chairman Dr Farid A. Malik has said that evaporation from the 100-mile-long Tarbela Dam reservoir would be minimised by planting trees along the boundaries of the reservoir and in adjoining area.

Talking to management representatives of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology and officials of forest department of Wapda here on Tuesday, Dr Malik said a project in this regard would soon be initiated.

He said the project would be jointly carried out by the PSF, the GIK Institute and Wapda. It would be financed by the PSF which would also monitor and coordinate the project to achieve the desired results.

Dr Malik said that plantations along the dam reservoir would not only stop the massive evaporation, it would also halt soil erosion and create a pollution-free environment. Beautification of the area would be an additional advantage, he added.

The PSF chief said that with collective efforts water could be saved for different crops and power generation. The meeting discussed the tree plantation programme around the Tarbela reservoir in detail. Later, one of the officials told Dawn that a tripartite memorandum of understanding would be signed by the three parties in the next few days.

"Our main thrust is on reducing evaporation and stop loss of water from Tarbela reservoir. In view of the growing demand for water in the near future we need to have a strategy to cope with the situation.

"By planting more and more trees we could change the environment of the entire region. If we succeed here we would launch a similar project at the Mangla Dam," he said.

In the next phase, he said, the three parties could join hands in launching an artificial rain project. He said the GIK Institute would be the nucleus of all future activities. Dr Malik went through various projects initiated by the PSF across the country, saying that the foundation had created three support departments namely self-security, IT and Human Resources.