Karachi, The National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) in collaboration with PTC, is gearing up to launch a significant plantation drive in Karachi. The initiative, set to start next month, aims to plant a total of 100,000 trees and plants across the city in 2024.
According to National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH), the drive is in partnership with two other non-governmental organizations. An MoU was signed by NFEH President Naeem Qureshi and PTC Founders Razzaq Pardesi and Murad Ali Soni in a recent ceremony. PTC will donate indigenous plant species for the campaign, while NFEH will spearhead a mass awareness campaign targeting school students, corporate and industrial sectors, media, and other NGOs to participate actively in the plantation drive.
Naeem Qureshi, President of NFEH, announced that the campaign would commence in February and continue until October 2024. The drive aims to engage various civic bodies, including the office of Karachi’s Commissioner, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the newly formed town municipal administrations, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), cantonments, and corporate organizations.
The responsibility of identifying suitable planting sites lies primarily with the KMC, towns, cantonments, DHA, and other land-owning agencies in the city. Qureshi emphasized that the new campaign would complement the ongoing efforts to beautify and green Karachi’s urban spaces, roads, and streets. Sites for planting will be selected in consultation with KMC, towns, and other concerned NGOs to optimize the use of available open urban spaces for increasing green cover and fostering urban forests.
Qureshi further stated that plants would be donated to any citizen, company, or industry committed to contributing to Karachi’s greening. Recipients will be required to provide a commitment to water, nurture, and protect the saplings until they grow into mature trees. The NFEH will work closely with the Commissioner’s Office, KMC, towns, and cantonments to ensure the well-being of the planted saplings.
The upcoming clean and green Karachi campaign builds on NFEH’s eight-year-long efforts, in partnership with the commissioner’s office, to conduct extensive plantation and cleanliness drives in the city.