Muhammad Usman
The Coronavirus has taught us a lesson that we cannot play with the Mother Nature. It has also given us a grave warning to stop pushing the limits of the environment along with providing us with an opportunity to see what difference we can make by just doing small actions to reduce pollution.
This was stated by the Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam Khan during his visit to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
President LCCI Mian Tariq Misbah, Senior Vice President Nasir Hameed Khan, Former President Sohail Lashari, LCCI Executive Committee Member Sajjad Afzal, Uzma Shahid, Shahid Nazir, Malik Riaz Iqbal and Saleem Asghar Bhatti were also present on the occasion.
Amin Aslam Khan said that the government has announced Green Stimulus Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to begin green recovery, adding that only Lahore City has lost its 70 percent forest cover in last 15 years and this is the biggest reason of the increased Smog in the city. He said 40 percent of the Smog is due to the transport and to counter the issue we are now proving euro 5 fuel instead of euro 2.
“10 billion tree tsunami is creating jobs; it’s not like that we are planting only trees, we are also developing green economy, in KPK, green economy has created half a million jobs and is now self-sustaining, these jobs are generally related to nurseries established to promote greenery and check wildfires in forest areas during the peak summer” said the PM Advisor. He said the Urban Forestry is very important, in order to expand the forest cover in the cities, we have identified hundred places in Lahore where small forests can be developed, adding that the main purpose of the initiative is to develop and protect national parks. He said we have announced many national parks around the country and a 3500 hundred acres national park is established very near to Lahore at Balloki. He said that government is going to start a National Park Service to promote eco-tourism.
President LCCI Mian Tariq Misbah said that the Environment Ministry has the responsibility of developing and providing a national environmental management system, including laws, regulations, national policy statements and national environmental standards in relation to climate changes.
