ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan has called for boosting tree plantation for protecting humans, animals and plants from delirious impact of global warming.
In a statement issued on Friday in the context of the World Forest Day (WFD), the minister said, “No matter how many trees are planted today, these will secure existing and future generations from the devastating impact of climatic changes such as carbon emissions. Any negligence will expose all living things to harmful effects of global warming.”
The WFD 2015 is being observed across the world under the theme `Forests and Climate Changes’, which highlights forest-based solutions to address climatic changes and adaptation, and forests and sustainable development.
This global celebration provides a platform to raise awareness about the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. Forests and trees offer key solution to most of the disasters triggered by climatic changes, including flash floods, land erosion, landslides and forest fires. Mr Khan said forests were valued for balancing oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity in air and protecting watersheds which supplied 75 per cent of freshwater worldwide and nearly the same amount in Pakistan.
Yet despite these benefits, global deforestation continues at an alarmingly high rate of 13 million hectares annually, he said.
The minister said the government was serious in its commitment to safeguarding the country’s forest resources and increasing the area under forests.
