ISLAMABAD, Nov 30 (INP-WealthPK): The World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) will help the country restore 50,000 acres of degraded forest lands at a cost of Rs600 million under a forest restoration initiative. The joint initiative will be launched under a memorandum of understanding signed by the WWF-P, Engro Foundation and the Ministry of Climate Change. Commenting on the forest restoration programme, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam underscores the vital role the private sector can play to restore the country’s degraded forest landscape for achieving environmental and economic sustainability. He says the world has lost nearly half of the six trillion trees that existed on earth 12,000 years ago. “This degradation and loss of forests have caused an irreparable damage to natural systems.” Mr Amin emphasises collaboration and partnerships between corporate sector and the government to achieve the goal of forest conservation and restoration by growing billions of trees. “This will help achieve sustainable development goals, including climate resilience, food security, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, fighting hunger, malnutrition and disease.” “The private sector, which has destroyed forests on a large scale to convert them into commercial areas, can play a vital role under its corporate social responsibility head for conserving and restoring degraded forest landscapes to combat global climate change and prevent biodiversity loss,” Malik Amin stresses. The gains made so far for achieving sustainability of businesses and economies, which provide jobs and feed millions, will be jeopardised without conserving and restoring degraded forest landscapes and protecting them, he continues. He, however, expresses satisfaction over the fact that nongovernmental and non-profit organisations and some corporate leaders are advocating the case for private sector engagement in forest landscape restoration. “The companies and NGOs have an enormous opportunity to work together with governments to advance the world’s goals on protecting the planet, fighting poverty, hunger and loss of biodiversity.” Mr Amin highlights that forests sequester carbon, regulate global temperatures and freshwater flows, recharge groundwater, anchor fertile soil and act as flood barriers. “The forest resources harbour 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and are considered a treasure trove of innovation and a source of subsistence and survival for 350 million people.” He points out that over half of Pakistan’s annual global GDP, or $44 trillion, is potentially threatened by nature loss because business depends on nature and its services. “As trees vanish, the services they offer are naturally weakened, lowering the productivity/health of soils and natural carbon sinks, diminishing the people’s access to clean drinking water, safe sanitation, food and reducing our resilience to extreme weather events.” Speaking about the initiative, WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan says the carbon off-set programme is an important approach to restoring deforested and degraded land. He says the initiative envisages bringing together people with diverse and diverging views and interests to create a plan in which both people and nature win. Engro Corporation President and CEO Ghias Khan says realising the full benefits that forests provide and the planet so dearly needs they require more than simply keeping current forests standing. “This is a daunting task which the government cannot alone achieve with its scant resources.” The corporate sector will have to come forward under corporate responsibility for restoring deforested and degraded lands across Pakistan to ensure environmental sustainability, he notes.