After taking his office in 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Haripur and planted a deodar sapling to kick off his government’s ‘10 billion tree tsunami’ afforestation drive. That tells his commitment towards his ambitious goal. Earlier, under his instructions his party in the government of Khyber Pakhtukhwa planted one billion trees in the province, which was lauded globally.
There is no denying tree plantations, as a tool to better and clean environment, has been in the major priorities of Imran Khan, which is the main reason Pakistan has been awarded to host the World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with the UN Environment Programme. It is a great honour and acknowledgement of his efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and global warming.
World Environment Day
World Environment Day is celebrated every year on the 5th of June annually since 1974, under the umbrella of the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. The Day has also become a vital platform for promoting progress on the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The hosting of the “World Environment Day” brings positive projections for Pakistan providing an opportunity to highlight its commitment and achievement on a global scale to showcase its climate change and environmental protection activities.
“Ecosystem Restoration”
The theme of World Environment Day in 2021 is ‘ecosystem restoration’ with focus on resetting our relationship with nature. The day will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030, which is intended to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis, prevent the loss of a million species and enhance food security water supply and livelihoods.
The major initiatives for ecosystem restoration taken by the government to mitigate the effects of environmental degradation include 12 different interventions ranging from the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project, Green Economic Stimulus to National Adaptation Plan and Clean Green Index and Champions project.
World Environment Conference
According to official sources, Prime Minister Khan would make important announcements on the World Environment Day, related to climate change initiative, including the Ten Billion Trees Tsunami Programme, Clean Green Pakistan, the Electric Vehicle Policy, National Parks, and Green jobs. He would also preside the World Environment Conference on the night of June 4, which will also be attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A mega environment event will also be held on the World Environment Day in Islamabad. Over the years, the World Environment Day has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people around the world
By
Editorial, Infocus
