This year Karachi has seen a growth in forestation after over 430,000 saplings of various species including fruits have been planted throughout the city.
The business hub of the country only this year witnessed such efforts with a view to revamping urban forestry, saving the metropolis from global warming, leaving a therapeutic effect on the concrete jungle and causing incremental carbon credit, an officer told Bol News.
Besides preventing environmental hazards and pollution, urban forestry also cools surrounding areas. “People feel the positivity and energy in the lush green atmosphere and it also protects public and private land by preventing runaway encroachment,” Sindh Forest and Wildlife additional secretary (technical) Aijaz Ahmed Nizamani said.
He stated that if plantation is successfully carried out, it will definitely eliminate risks of encroachment. Moreover, trees provide relief from the sweltering heat in the form of shade.
Commenting on the rising encroachment in the province, he further said that there were rare chances to encroach on Lyari riverbed where over 60,000 saplings were planted to improve the atmosphere.
He added that after the COP26 summit recently in Glasgow, it’s high time to work on urban forestry, protect mangrove forests and general forest cover. “On top of that, we ought to protect them for upcoming generations and improve air quality,” he stressed.
Answering a question about selling carbon credit of urban forestry, he explained that this was not likely going to happen as the international community is preoccupied with the Covid-19 pandemic these days. “These plants belonging to urban forestry [do not] have much potential for the [carbon] credit. They are aimed to fight environmental hazards, heatstroke, beautify localities and strengthen forest cover.”
Variety of flora
Sharing details to fulfil commitment to control the climate crisis, divisional forest officer (DFO) Social Forestry-1 Karachi Maqsood Memon said that the Sindh government has taken many steps to counter rising heatwaves during summer season in the megacity. “This includes planting various kinds of fruit orchards of chikoo, guava and jamun, kikar, gul mohar, shisham, gul-e-Nishter, sukh chain, parkensonia, lignum, jungle jalebi and, above all, beautiful neem trees in droves.”
Of the over 430,000 saplings that have been planted, 100,000 trees have been planted on both sides of M-9 Motorway from Sohrab Goth to Karachi toll plaza, 100,000 surrounding a private cement factory, 10,000 in Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park Clifton, 140,000 at Shahid Hayat Police Training College Saeedabad, 20,000 within the premises of Karachi University and over 60,000 on both sides of Lyari riverbed from the Mauripur bridge to Shershah bridge, he said.
“The plantation covers approximately 475 acres of land in the city. Saplings which have been planted range from two, three to 3.5 feet in sizes and they will take almost three years to mature considerably over this stipulated period of time.”
He added that the Sindh Forest and Wildlife Department has also planned to enhance these initiatives by planting in Korangi district, Malir Cantonment, Education City, Gadap and various other localities in the days to come.
Forest officers who were approached say that both the federal and provincial governments were striving hard to fight pollution through such strategies.
As far as traditional urban forestry is concerned, it occurs along roadsides, gardens in front of houses, green belts etc. The monsoon season which commences from July 15 and lasts till September 15 is the best time for planting urban forests.
In February 2020, Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had inaugurated urban forestry in Lyari aimed to bring about a pleasant and serene environment, curb global warming and do away with encroachments.
Benefits of carbon credit
A carbon credit is a permit that allows international and multinational companies which hold it (carbon credit) to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gasses. The companies that pollute the environment on a large scale and contaminate freshwater bodies to some extent are bound to plant a certain amount of trees or they might rent land that covers a significant wide range of plants anywhere in the world to compensate for their emissions.
In developing countries, sale of carbon credits has not yet been initiated at this stage. In the case of Pakistan, calculations of the credits are being conducted in Sindh while covering coastal areas of Karachi and adjoining districts of interior Sindh. Meanwhile Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been assessing carbon credits and are aiming to sell them as soon as international companies make offers in this respect. However, the authorities concerned of all three provinces have not revealed such statistics regarding it so far.
The authorities concerned seem to be reluctant to divulge the current status of these calculations. Sources privy to the matter say that mangrove coastal forest of Karachi are in the final stage of vending their carbon credit, when some handsome offers are given by some foreign and multinational companies. These companies are also willing to pay whopping prices and even a gold premium to the developing countries to raise the living standards of the people in those particular localities from where they purchase this carbon credit.
Executive action
According to the website of Federal Ministry of Climate Change, on Sept 2, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’ programme – phase-I upscaling of the ‘Green Pakistan’ programme spanning four years (2019-2023). The ministry with provincial and territorial forest and wildlife departments is acting upon this project across the country aimed to revive the forest and wildlife resources, improve the overall conservation of the existing protected areas, and encourage eco-tourism, community engagement and job creation through conservation.
During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the forest and wildlife department provided green jobs through green stimulus to 84,609 daily wage earners under this project. A total plantation target of 430 million was achieved.
According to a survey conducted by Bol News to get views of local environment experts, consultants and activists about the COP26 summit — the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — they said it resulted in a serious trust deficit among developing countries. They said that wealthy nations have appeared to be unwilling to meet their respective commitments to fight the climate crisis during the discussions conducted over the fortnight.
