The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) will clear the first phase of Ten Billion Tsunami Tree Project (10BTTP) with a cost of Rs 7.5 billion on Thursday (today) for the current financial year while all provinces would match the figure as well, said Adviser to Prime Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam.
Total cost of the 10BTTP is Rs 125 billion while the federal government would share 50 percent of the amount while the rest would be shared by all provinces, and the project would be completed in four years. This was stated by Aslam during the post-exposure visit of mainstream media persons to billion tree afforestation project.
Aslam Wednesday confirmed that Rs 7.5 billion have been approved from the federal cabinet for the 10BTT and the amount would be released soon after the approval of the CDWP. This amount is the share for the first year of the project's execution, said the adviser.
He further said that in the first phase, 1.5 billion trees would be planted across the country. He said that BTAP of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has provided a launching pad and the project would be extended to the entire country.
He said Billion Tree Tsunami of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was a revolutionary project which turned the tide not only in terms of ecology but also contributed in social development. The advisor said that Pakistan needs special attention to counter the impacts of climate change.
He highlighted the success of one billion tree plantation project by the KP government and added that its success has been acknowledged by international bodies too. Army has extended support for reforestation in katcha area of Sindh, he said.
He said Sindh would plant around one billion trees, Punjab, less than a billion, and Balochistan will plant 180 million trees, but reforestation and afforestation will be a challenge in Balochistan.
The advisor said that the 10BTTP will include up-gradation of forest fire fighting mechanism. "Forest fire is a global phenomenon due to climate change. The forest fires in KP have mostly occurred due to negligence and irresponsible behaviour of tourists visiting forests in the province and pine cones, which are highly inflammable during hot weather. We will incorporate best forest fire fighting paraphernalia in the latest project to prevent such disastrous incidents," he said.
The adviser noted that all those people involved in the project would be paid their wages and no one would be left behind in this regard.
"I went recently to the United Nations General Assembly session where the President has taken keen interest in BTAP project and they are mulling over to take it as one of the best model projects across the world. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Economic Forum (WEF), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Bonn Challenge and international media have given due importance to BTAP and are also taking keen interest," the adviser noted.
He vowed that those individuals of KP Forest Department who rendered the sacrifices of their precious lives while fighting timber mafia and forest fires would be provided with financial assistance as these are great heroes of the nation.
"Eucalyptus has been planted in Dera Ismail Khan which is a water logged area with saline land. However, it has helped in reducing the ground water level and revived biodiversity and ecology in that area where IUCN has conducted a report on the rejuvenation of biodiversity. The IUCN report mentions that this project has helped in achieving 9 Aichi targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity," Aslam informed.
The journalists during their interaction with the adviser showed their interest for constructive projection of the first ever mega environment conservation. They mentioned that the exposure visit helped them attain firsthand knowledge and practical approach over the BTAP plantation mechanism and also to buster the myth of eucalyptus being mongered by the critics of the project.
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