F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Department will carry out 47pc plantations activities under 10 billions trees afforestration project (10BTAP) in erstwhile Fata due to availability of vast lands there to offset the growing effects of climate change and global warming.
Niaz Ali Khan, Chief Conservator of Forest told APP on Sunday that the vast unproductive land in erstwhile Fata would be utalized under 10BTAP where 47pc physical afforestration activities would be carried out to achieve the set target of one billion saplings in KP by 2023.
He said 33pc out of the total amount of Rs9065million would be spent on plantations related activities in erstwhileFata and the physical targets allotted to merged areas is 47pc of the total provincial targets.
The Forests Department Chief said BTAP has been extended to erstwhile Fata by the Govt with the target of raising of 215,000 hactares (ha) block plantations, 10,000 ha saline and waterlogged, 1200ha plantations on marginalized lands, 90ha Avenue plantations, 6760ha dryland and 3200ga wood lots.
Sowing and dribbling would be carried out over 10,000 ha while 1375ha land would be treated under rangelands policy besides 10 watershed areas.
He said whopping plantations is the cheapest way to counterbalance the effects of climate change and global warming.
Niaz Ali Khan said 4600 forest enclosures would be established under 10BTAP to achieve the target of one billion under the national afforestration program.
Up till now, he said, 1150ha block plantations, 10ha avanue plantations, 240ha dryland, 1611ha sowing and 0.47million seedlings were freely distributed among farmers, general public and national buildings departments in erstwhileFata.
He said jobs opportunities for thousands of labour workforce would be generated due to 10BTAP inagurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said 71ha departmental nursary and fruit plants nursary on two hactares and five private nurseries with help of women were established.
In Khyber Forest Division, he said the target of setting up of 658 enclosures were achieved.
Plantation on 290ha land out of the set target of 700ha were achieved besides setting up of departmental nursary on six hactares, raising of1220 enclousers and planting of 9, 34,900 plants in merged areas.
The Forest Chief said 31, 860 new plantations would be raised out of which 1400 achieved so far in erstwhileFata.
He said sowing and dribbling besides maintenance on 10, 000ha would be made with a cost of Rs807million of which 1611hactares were already achieved.
The Forest Department Chief said the first ever Range Management Policy of Pakistan, “REDD+” (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) strategy and Green Growth Initiative (GGI) were formulated and implemented in KP.
To tackle climate change and global warming, he said billion trees project was launched in 2014 with a total cost of Rs19.4486 billion out of which Rs14 billion were so far spent to increase forest land and protect soils from further erosion.
As many as 1208 million plants were added to forest resources over an area of 230,000 hectares besides establishment of 4509 forests enclosures, increasing forest cover of KP to 26.3pc in 2018 from 20.3pc in 2013, registering a record 6pc increase courtesy to BTAP, he maintained.
Niaz Ali said forest change detection via interpretation of satellite images through SUPARCO by assessing 1496 enclosures and 2069 afforestration sites were under taken under BTAP, reflecting positive change of 60.13pc and 70.81pc respectively.
Keeping in view of BTAP success in KP, he said 10BTAP were launched across the country under which 10billion plants would be planted in Pakistan by 2023.
He said BTAP would help alleviate poverty and generate employment opportunities for people of erstwhile Fata besides improve their overall socioeconomic conditions.
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