PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan here on Friday kicked off the spring tree plantation campaign by planting an olive sapling in the lawn of the Chief Minister’s House, according to a statement issued here.

Speaking on this occasion, the chief minister urged the masses to fully participate in the tree plantation drive so that the targets set at the national level for tree plantation could be easily achieved.

He said that the provincial government had achieved the target of one billion tree project in the last five years which was recognised at international level.

He said that under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Project (10-BTTP) at the national level, additional one billion saplings were being planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which the relevant institutions, private organisations and people from all segments of the society should play their vital role.

Urges people to fully participate in the campaign

The chief minister said that the 10-BTTP had been designed for sustainable forestry development, creating job opportunities, reducing pressure on existing natural forests and fulfillment of international obligation to this effect besides combating climate change vagaries.

Later, briefing the chief minister on the steps taken for tree plantation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was stated that over 250 million saplings would be planted in the province during the current spring tree plantation campaign as part of a series of 10 billion tree projects at the national level, under which a target of planting over 382 million trees in the province had been set for the year 2020-21.

It was stated that over 132 million saplings were planted in the province during the monsoon tree plantation campaign last year while cumulatively about 300 million saplings had been planted so far under the project.

About the current plantation drive, the meeting was told that special focus was being paid to olive tree plantation and under the five years programme of olive cultivation four million olive plants would be cultivated over an area of 30,000 acres besides two million grafting of olive plants.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2021