ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority on Tuesday established what it called biggest ever Miyawaki forest in H-12 in collaboration with Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL).

CDA Chairman Usman Younis and Managing Director Mari Petroleum Faheem Haider inaugurated the project.

According to CDA, the forest has been built on 17 acres of land. Initially, 20,000 large-sized saplings of different species have been planted, while more plantations are on the way to make the forest even bigger.

A special fence has also been installed to protect the plants.

Speaking on the occasion, CDA chairman thanked MPCL for their partnership with CDA for creating the forest. He said Islamabad was already a green city and addition of 20,000 plants would make the city more green.

The CDA chief further said that in view of the environmental pollution, the amount of saplings to be planted are few, but the CDA administration is trying to plant more saplings.

He further said that this is the biggest Miyawaki forest of Islamabad city, so special arrangements will be made to ensure the safety of the plants.

Miyawaki Forest is a method of tree plantation which was introduced by Japanese botanist and expert in plant ecology, Akira Miyawaki.

In this method, trees are planted close to each other and during early period the plants compete with each other for space and access to light and water, a struggle which results in faster growth.

The plants under this method grow 10 times faster than normal plantation.

Last year CDA had set up a number of such forests in various areas of the city.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2022