10 Billion Trees to Combat Global Warming

[Shahzaz ud din]

10 Billion Trees to Combat Global Warming

Like much of the rest of South Asia, Pakistan is uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. To help combat rising temperatures and an increasing number of heat waves, the new incoming government is proposing the country plant 10 billion trees over the course of five years in order to restore the country’s depleted forests.

“It is now imperative to tackle climate change and reverse environmental degradation as Pakistan’s situation will only worsen as the economy grows,” Imran Khan’s PTI party wrote in its official platform.

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute has classified Pakistan as the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change. NBC News reports that while the environment and global warming were not major campaign issues during Pakistan’s recent election, government officials and others have been talking more about how to protect Pakistani people from rising temperatures and events like melting glaciers in the country’s northeast.

This new reforestation plan is an extension of future prime minister Imran Khan’s “Billion Tree” project, which planted about 865,000 trees in the Khyber Pass between 2014 and 2017.

The proposal to repopulate the forests has gained widespread praise both inside and outside of Pakistan. “Irrespective of the number of trees planted, it is important for our country, which has so many other challenges, to have the lungs to support our environment,” Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, the CEO of the environmental group LEAD Pakistan told NBC News. “We welcome Khan’s promise and we looking forward to holding him to account.”

The head of the United Nations Environment Programme also signaled his support of the idea. “Pakistan is one of the countries at the frontlines of climate change,” Erik Solheim tweeted.

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[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Let's see whether the IAF has the guts to destroy a couple of them this time....

A great initiative...

If you're planting a tree, and the Kiyamet starts, don't abandon planting - Hadis-i Sherif

 

[BATMAN]

Govt. need to point out each point for plantation, otherwise it's not going to achieve its goals.
Imagine, if a tree planted at a place, where infrastructure construction may happen in 10 years time!
Imagine a neglected un-water sapling.
Last but not least ever tree should have a serial number or bar code, for its history, otherwise it never happened.

 

[YeBeWarned]

We will Green the Tree out of Pakistan

 

[BRAVO_]

may be i am the only one with this awkward opinion in this forum but one must keep in mind, thatt every thing looks good in a balance ... having forests and green areas is good for eco system but one should not forget forest need water... growing too many trees on mountain areas will reduce the water flow to lakes and rivers resulting further shortages of water .......... so they should identify those areas where water wastage is too much or areas effected by water logging and salinity it will serve both purposes

 

[SSGcommandoPAK]

Great project should be spread in provinces like Sindh and Balochistan as well !

 

[Indus Pakistan]

may be i am the only one with this awkward opinion in this forum but one must keep in mind, thatt every thing looks good in a balance ... having forests and green areas is good for eco system but one should not forget forest need water... growing too many trees on mountain areas will reduce the water flow to lakes and rivers resulting further shortages of water .......... so they should identify those areas where water wastage is too much or areas effected by water logging and salinity it will serve both purposes

Not quite. I did fluvial dynamics in my A-level geography long time ago so my recollection is tad weak. This tree planation project has recieved worldwide recognition from all manner of experts and all have lauded this effort. A rare thing for Pakistan which mostly gets publicity for all the wrong reasons like terrorism.

Specifically going to what you said if trees cut it encourages surface run off and flooding. Meaning when it rains the water rolls down the hills in huge quantities and quickly the river levels rise leading to flooding. Hower when the rain stops the discharge sudenly zeros out and the river dries up leading to water shortage. Meaning you get extreme highs [too much water] and lows [insufficient water]. Trees sprout roots in the soil whose aggregate effect is they bind the soil. When it rains the water is retained by the soil like a sponge and instead of having highs and lows you get regular even flow which of course is the ideal. In addition no trees means the surface runoff weathers the soil leading to massive erosion and the soil drops into the river causing blockages and reduces the lifespan of dams as the reservoir is filled with sediment.

So the fact is planting trees is looking after mother earth and a gift to future generations. The only caveat would that the trees planted should be appropriate to the environment.

 

[General General]

may be i am the only one with this awkward opinion in this forum but one must keep in mind, thatt every thing looks good in a balance ... having forests and green areas is good for eco system but one should not forget forest need water... growing too many trees on mountain areas will reduce the water flow to lakes and rivers resulting further shortages of water .......... so they should identify those areas where water wastage is too much or areas effected by water logging and salinity it will serve both purposes

The benefits of forestation would greatly out weight any such drawback. Any water absorbed by plants are stored and expelled, reducing the ambient atmospheric temperatures. A decent sized forest could reduce the temperature of an area by up to ten degrees. This causes moisture to condense in the form of increased rainfall. The Amazon forest produces a great deal of water vapour and reduces the temperature to such a degree compared to areas outside it, that it has a unique isolated weather system of itself.
Source

 

[Bengal71]

Great initiative.

 

[BRAVO_]

The benefits of forestation would greatly out weight any such drawback. Any water absorbed by plants are stored and expelled, reducing the ambient atmospheric temperatures. A decent sized forest could reduce the temperature of an area by up to ten degrees. This causes moisture to condense in the form of increased rainfall. The Amazon forest produces a great deal of water vapour and reduces the temperature to such a degree compared to areas outside it, that it has a unique isolated weather system of itself.
Source

keeping in mind our water shortages and learning the lessons from america where a century-old government war on wildfires in the western US has resulted in the growth of several billion excess trees the denser canopies prevent 20 to 30 percent of precipitation from reaching the ground, and the extra water sucked up by the roots doesn't make it to nearby creeks. Consequently, in the Sierra Nevada forest alone, the surplus of trees can be blamed "for the loss of...17 million acre-feet of water per year. That's more than enough water to meet the needs of every Californian for a year."
it dose't mean that i am against forestation but govt should highlight the areas where we should not have negative impacts and should promote the plantation of only those trees which require very less water to survive

 

[PakSword]

may be i am the only one with this awkward opinion in this forum but one must keep in mind, thatt every thing looks good in a balance ... having forests and green areas is good for eco system but one should not forget forest need water... growing too many trees on mountain areas will reduce the water flow to lakes and rivers resulting further shortages of water .......... so they should identify those areas where water wastage is too much or areas effected by water logging and salinity it will serve both purposes

Thick forests reduce soil erosion during floods and thus keep the land fertile. Also, fresh water level in and around forests is much higher therefore people have to dig not too deep to reach the water level in wells.

Without forests, excess water flows without any resistance and create floods due to absence of water absorbing soil. Eventually, the excess water isn't even stored in lakes and flows towards the sea, destroying cultivated land in between, and takes the fertile soil with it to the sea. Eventually, per acre yield of the land drops, which in turn creates economic problems for the country in the long run.