ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will on Monday (today) inaugurate the world’s biggest Miyawaki urban forest in Lahore as part of monsoon drive under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project.
The Miyawaki forest has been developed over 100 kanals with a total of 165000 plants which will grow ten times quicker than a normal forest owing to the unique Miyawaki technique.
It uses specialized land preparation as well as indigenous varieties with varying growth rates to produce fast growing urban forests.
Another 53 Miyawaki forests are being grown at different parts of Lahore to create sinks for carbon as well as for better pollution abatement in the city. All have been geo-tagged for monitoring of their growth and development.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan is trying to grow back the lungs of Lahore and revive it as the city of gardens that it once was,” a statement said.
About 500 million trees are being planted across the country under the ongoing Monsoon plantation drive which is the largest ever such drive in Pakistan.
Largest Miyawaki urban forest
Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the Parks & Horticulture Authority (PHA) Lahore will grow the largest Miyawaki urban forest by planting 112500 indigenous trees and shrubs.
He said such urban forests will also be developed at 15 other places in Lahore city to grow a total of 292,500 trees.
Buzdar said 58000 trees will be planted over an area of 50 Kanal in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park while another 58,000 trees will be grown over 50 Kanal in Township. 13,500 trees will also be planted at 12 Kanal land of township nursery.
Similarly, Miyawaki urban forests will also be developed at C-Block Sabzazar, Ganj Sarkar Sabzazar, Qaddafi Park Gulshan-e-Ravi, Saggian Interchange, Rustam Park Gulshan-e-Ravi, Karim Park Golbagh near Data Darbar, Mahmood Booti, Green Town, Mustafa Bhatti Park Township, Kashmir Park, and Khalid Butt Park Township.
The chief minister regretted that the historic city of Lahore was defaced in past tenure by raising huge jumbled structures of concrete and irresponsible cutting of trees further devastated the environment.
He remarked that the lack of forests was resulting in environmental degradation and extensive tree-plantation drive will help to overcome smog and pollution.
He said the 10 billion tree tsunami programme is a game-changer initiative to make Pakistan clean and green and the government will overcome smog and environmental degradation by planting more trees.
