STAFF REPORT ISB: Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid has said that a comprehensive plan Green Pakistan was being devised to promote forestry across the country.
“The ministry is preparing a comprehensive strategy for the Green Pakistan,” he apprised the National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change.
He said consultation process with concerned provincial secretaries had already been initiated as “the national plan, which is at its advanced stage, has to be implemented at the provincial level.”
Under the strategy, he said, trees of special species including juniper, Deodar, Sheesam and pine would be planted in different forest pockets to tackle adverse affects of climate change in the country.
Zahid also informed the committee that he had floated an idea to the Prime Minister for setting up a Climate Change Inter-Ministerial Authority, aimed at providing a national-level platform to discuss matters pertaining to environmental issues with different ministries and provinces.
He expressed the hope that provinces would support this initiative in supreme national interest. The minister briefed the committee members on the Climate Change Conference COP-21 recently held in Paris, which was participated by delegates from 195 countries and attended by 150 heads of states.
He said the conference discussed all possible ways and means to mitigate negative impacts of climate change and global warming across the world.