Haroon Shoaib
DESPITE contributing less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts, including floods, heatwaves, droughts and ecosystem degradation. In this context, trees are no longer simply part of the landscape; they have increasingly become part of climate strategy itself.
In Pakistan, where rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, urban heat islands and deteriorating air quality continue to intensify environmental pressures, afforestation is increasingly being viewed as both an ecological necessity and a public policy priority. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, improve air quality, reduce surface temperatures, prevent soil erosion and contribute to restoring ecological balance in rapidly urbanizing environments.
Pakistan’s growing emphasis on afforestation is therefore not limited to planting more trees alone. Increasingly, policymakers and environmental planners are recognizing that the real challenge lies in ensuring trees survive long after ceremonial plantation drives conclude. This broader shift in thinking has become increasingly visible in Pakistan’s climate discourse.
Under the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination’s Green Pakistan Upscaling Programme, there has been greater focus on long-term monitoring, survival rates, geo-tagging and digital oversight mechanisms aimed at improving accountability and environmental outcomes. Government-led restoration efforts linked to wider afforestation programmes have also explored geospatial monitoring systems to track plantation activity and ecological restoration over time.
Increasingly, afforestation is being viewed not simply as an environmental exercise, but as part of broader climate adaptation infrastructure. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Pakistan’s large-scale restoration efforts under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami initiative have gained international attention for linking ecological restoration with climate resilience, biodiversity protection and long-term environmental sustainability.
Recently, Islamabad witnessed its largest tree plantation drive of the season at F-6/3 Park, where Coca-Cola Pakistan contributed 5,000 indigenous trees in support of the Ministry’s afforestation efforts. The plantation activity brought together federal and municipal institutions, youth volunteers and community participants around a shared environmental objective.
Speaking at the event, Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik stressed that plantation efforts must prioritize not only planting, but also the long-term protection and survival of trees. His remarks reflected an increasingly important reality: Pakistan’s climate response can no longer afford symbolic plantation campaigns with poor follow-through.
Importantly, this is not the only recent example of the private sector engaging in afforestation efforts. Over the past few weeks, organizations across sectors have participated in plantation activities and environmental drives as climate concerns move closer to the center of public conversation. Telecom operator Zong recently announced a plantation initiative involving 2,000 trees, while media organizations and corporate entities have also increasingly associated themselves with urban greening and sustainability initiatives.
What makes such efforts more meaningful is when they move beyond one-off activities and become part of a broader environmental approach. Pakistan’s environmental challenges remain immense. According to multiple studies and climate assessments, the country continues to experience declining forest cover and increasing climate vulnerability.
The larger lesson emerging from recent plantation efforts is that climate resilience cannot be built through ceremonial campaigns alone. Environmental stewardship requires continuity, maintenance, institutional accountability and sustained collaboration between governments, corporations and citizens alike. Without that long-term commitment, even the most ambitious plantation numbers risk becoming temporary headlines rather than lasting ecological change. Planting trees is important. Ensuring they survive may matter even more.
