Deforestation is a global problem as every year millions of trees are cut down and sold to timber mafias or to make the land habitable for human settlements. A fast urbanizing world means a higher rate of tree cutting and a lesser number of trees per person.
In Pakistan, deforestation is a growing problem with hundreds of trees being cut down by timber mafias, land grabbers and urban sprawlers. This accelerated deforestation rate is reducing the number of trees per person ratio. In Pakistan, there are only 5 trees per person against a global average of 422. In the US, there are 699 trees per person while in China there are 130 trees per person. Observing this disparity, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the country has a lot of catching up to do.
The premier is soon launching a tree plantation campaign ahead of the monsoon season and has invited the youth to participate in this exercise. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2020-21, Pakistan has been successful in planting 350 million trees and 814.6 million plants across the country under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Project. The TBTTP aims to revive Pakistan’s forests by planting 10 billion trees across the country by 2023.
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