Pakistan Failed to Meet Monsoon Plantation Target Under 10 Billion Tree Tsunami

The Federal Forestry Board held on Monday its sixth meeting at the Ministry of Climate Change to review the progress made and the targets set with regard to the tree plantation under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Program (TBTTP) and the conservation of forests and wildlife across the country.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam Khan, chaired the meeting, which was attended by the Secretaries Forest of all provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Board was informed that over 70 percent of the target of planting 502.500 million set for the three-month monsoon season in 2021, which ended in September last year, had been achieved. It was also briefed that the target of planting one billion trees was set for the fiscal year 2021-22 under TBTTP covering both monsoon and spring tree plantation targets.

The Secretaries shared with the Board the details of tree plantation campaigns in their respective provinces, in addition to the achievements made against the targets set for Monsoon 2021, the update on the state of stocks in nurseries, and the strategy for the upcoming Spring Tree Plantation 2022. They also informed the Board about the land identified for plantation along with the days and numbers of events planned for the launch of the Spring Plantation 2022.

During the meeting, Project Director TBTTP also briefed the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on the physical and financial progress of TBTTP.

Malik Amin Aslam directed the Secretaries Forest to mobilize all resources to achieve the target of planting one billion trees by the end of June 30, 2022. He appreciated their efforts to meet the target and to have effective coordination with the federal government. He pledged his all-out support to the provincial forest departments to achieve the target.

He was of the view that days should be dedicated for plantation with the judiciary, schools, media, teachers, prayer leaders, NGOs, and other government and non-governmental sectors under the upcoming spring tree plantation campaign in 2022.

The Special Assistant emphasized that all provinces should be taken aboard on the steps required to achieve the spring tree plantation target. He said a digital dashboard should be established for online monitoring of the progress of the tree plantations, adding that the data of plantations and other relevant activities of TBTTP should timely be uploaded on it so as to keep the public informed of the program. 

SAPM Amin Aslam also directed that 20% of the positions of forest Neghbans (forest watchers) should be fixed for females, and women must be involved in the plantation.

He directed the Board to plan for setting up woodlots on private lands in different parts of the country for small-scale production of forest products as well as recreational uses like birdwatching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation.

The Board also reviewed the progress of third-party independent monitoring of TBTTP by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, WWF -Pakistan, and UN-Food and Agriculture Organization. It was informed that KfW had provided $106,000 to the consortium for Phase-I for third-party monitoring of TBTTP and had agreed to provide $205 million for the program’s monitoring during Phase-II.