Faiza Tehseen

Pakistan needs to adopt tree plantation strategies to help restore the degraded lands, tackle desertification and combat the climate change challenge.

“Expanding desertification is a major threat to the country’s food security and environmental sustainability,” says Muhammad Saleem, spokesperson of the Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Ministry. Talking exclusively to WealthPK, he said: “Big cities can cope with urban heat island effects and deteriorating air quality by promoting urban forestry. Integration of trees into agricultural lands to enhance soil health and biodiversity through agroforestry techniques should also be promoted. Engaging local communities in tree plantation activities and community-managed tree plantations can also yield positive results in terms of growth and protection of trees.” 

The ministry official said the Green Pakistan Programme, spearheaded by the climate change and environmental coordination ministry, is a flagship project of the government that aims to plant ten billion trees by 2025. Saleem said: “Trees can help prevent soil erosion and degradation. They are the natural shields against climate irregularity, and also offer a sustainable livelihood to the communities.” He said that the corporate sector could be engaged in fulfilling its social responsibility by investing in environmental conservation efforts and tree plantations. “Pakistan can learn lessons regarding environmental conservation from China, where forest cover has been increased and desertification contained to a large extent.”

“As Pakistan is a member of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership facility, it is required to make serious efforts to stop desertification, promote sustainable forest management, reduce deforestation, and mitigate the climate change impact,” Saleem highlighted. Talking to WealthPK regarding the need for tree plantation strategies to avoid desertification, Dr Muhammad Akbar, an environmentalist from Gilgit-Baltistan, said: “Desertification happens when trees are cut down from an area. The last outcome of deforestation is desertification. If we replant or rehabilitate the plants in the said area, the natural environment there will be restored.

So, only replantation is the solution to desertification.” “Tree cutting in an area causes soil erosion, which then shifts to any other area. Another scenario is the soil of an area converts into a wasteland as the physio-chemical properties of this land are badly disturbed. Essential elements like quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, lead, or other important micro and macro elements are reduced,” he explained, stressing the need for replantation to maintain the balance. Akbar said: “Trees maintain the fertility and composition of soil – loam, clay, silt, and sand. To keep all of them in required proportions and to maintain the microbial activities in it, the role of trees is significant.”

“When desertification occurs in any area, the moist level decreases and temperature increases, causing cold nights and warm days,” he said, adding that biodiversity of any area, including avian, microbial fauna, mammalian, and all types of fauna will be revived after replantation. He said it must be prioritised that in any area only the right plantation should be done. “The process of adaptation in plants is too slow. So, only the native species or trees adaptable to particular climate should be selected to help maintain the micro-climate of the area.” The environmentalist said: “In GB, under a government initiative, millions of saplings were planted, but a good number of them didn’t survive because the authorities didn’t consider the adaptability of plants.

These plants were brought from Swat, Naran and Kaghan, and there is a three to four month difference in climates of these areas and GB. So, the native species should be focused even if they are in smaller numbers.” He said desertification caused by overgrazing, deforestation, and climate change had left Pakistan vulnerable, particularly in regions like Cholistan, Tharparkar and Balochistan. “To stop desertification in the country, diverse strategies are needed. Agroforestry, plantation of drought-resistant trees, massive plantations, and community involvement can be a few diverse strategies that can help address the issue,” Akbar stressed.

Credit: INP-WealthPk