Barrister Murtaza inaugurates urban forest at Clifton beach

KARACHI: Spokesperson of the Sindh Government and Advisor to CM Sindh on Law, Environmental, Climate Change, and Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab Monday said that in the past the issue of climate change was never taken seriously and due to which Pakistan had been lowered to the position of world’s 5th most vulnerable country of its alarming impacts.

Talking to the media persons after inaugurating the Urban Forest Project at the Clifton beach here, he said that the saplings to be planted in this project were indigenous and also some Japanese plants. In the project, 20 acres of land have been allotted for three million saplings.

“Gone is the place where there was garbage before and today it is a pleasant atmosphere here” he added.

It is a pity that no special measures were taken to develop the coastal belt of Karachi on which the Sindh Government thought that revolutionary steps should be taken about the adaptation of climate change.

The provincial government had initiated an urban forestry project on the coast under Public Private Partnership with an NGO SRO, he added.

The spokesperson said that in this positive work of establishing Urban Forest at the Karachi coast, we came out in good faith, adding we started the work first and then the media was invited to let it know we believe in actions rather than words.

Informing the journalists about this project, he said that these saplings were being planted in the ground at a distance of 6 feet and a plant nursery had also been set up here for the purpose.

"The saplings we planted in 2019 have become fully-grown trees now," he added.