Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Pakistan Plants 500 Million New Trees in Drive Against Climate Change

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Pakistan says a countrywide reforestation drive is on track
   to plant more than threebillion trees by mid-2023 to mitigate the
   effects of climate change.

   The massive program, dubbed Ten Billion Tree Tsunami, went into effect
   last year and has already planted more than 500 million saplings across
   the country, Federal Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam told
   VOA.

   "We are hoping to get our first billion target done by June next year,"
   Aslam said. He added the overall target is to add 10 billion trees by
   planting and natural regeneration through a phased approach at a cost
   of about $760 million.

   Aslam explained the campaign will increase "exponentially" in speed and
   scale in the coming days because the government has generated adequate
   nursery stock over the last two years.

   "The biggest obstacle in this process is the generation of nurseries.
   When we started, we had a nursery stock of about 30 million all over
   Pakistan. Today, the nursery stock we have in Pakistan is 300 million,"
   Aslam said.

   Pakistan's total forest cover is estimated to be less than 3%, one of
   the lowest levels in the region and well below the 12% recommended by
   the United Nations.

   The South Asian nation of about 220 million is listed in the top 10
   countries most likely to be affected by global warming and has one of
   the highest deforestation rates in Asia.

.