Billion Tree Tsunami is an Afforestation project in the territory of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), province of Pakistan. N0w-Prime Minister, Imran Khan launched this humanistic campaign back in 2015. The main aim of this campaign was to transform arid hills into lush green topography by planting a billion trees.

The project has achieved its restoration target through a combination of protected natural regeneration (60%) & planned afforestation (40%). In the past, it was a completely burnt land. After this massive tree plantation, hills covered with greenery as far as naked eye can see the horizon.

This project is known as a significant step in naturally restoring deforested & degraded land. Billion Tree Tsunami will help in achieving present & forthcoming climatic demands & its effects. As per Prime Minister, every child in Pakistan should be aware of the environmental issue of Pakistan which until now, has never been raised as an issue. He took extraordinary steps in order to increase the environmental awareness among the masses.

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Bonn Challenge

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put up the Bonn Challenge in 2011. It aims to afforest 150 million hectares of land by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. Up till now, 20 countries have signed up to this commitment.

Pakistan made a national pledge to the Bonn Challenge in May 2017. But it was limited to the province of KPK under Imran Khans ministry. IUCN has congratulated Imran Khan for reaching a “momentous milestone”.

International Media Recognition

According to AFP News, Billion Tree Tsunami has turned Pakistan into a “Green Gold”.

“Billion Tree Tsunami is a huge conservation success story” as advised by the director general of IUCN, Inger Anderson. He further added his trust to Pakistan’s leadership role in this regard. World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan believed this camp gain to be an environmental, economic & social success. Experts said that trees planted in this campaign have the highest survival rates roughly 70 to 90 percent.

Independent acknowledges efforts done by Pakistan to reduce Global warming through this titanic task. Voice of America values Pakistan’s leadership efforts to plants trees before a deadline. Reuters said Billion Tree Tsunami aims to turn  deforestation around & increase the province’s forested area by at least 2 percent. KPK has initiated a massive tree-planting effort, said Aljazeera.

Facts & Stats

Pakistan ranked as the 7th on the list of countries most likely to be affected by Global Warming. Moreover, the deforestation is happening at a speedy rate in Pakistan. Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) reports, that only 5.2% of land covered with forest against 12% as recommended by United Nations.

Up till now, the KPK government has invested US$ 123 million in funding. Additional US$ 100 million also planned to invest to support this project by June 2020. This investment is going to make this project as one of the largest eco-investments ever made in Pakistan.

Impacts

Thirteen thousand private tree nurseries established on account of this campaign. It leads to boost the local income while generating hundreds of jobs opportunities for the unemployed. Moreover, it also empowers the youth & women in various regards. The new trees have revived the landscape & scenic beauty of the area. Thus, attracting more tourists from the globe that will in turn support the countries economy.

In addition, it has established 13,000 private tree nurseries, which have already boosted local incomes, generated thousands of green jobs, & empowered unemployed youth & especially women in the province. Furthermore, it will also act as a guarding agent against erosion for future generations to come. It will also reduce the floods & add more precipitation chances in the region.

Now, Imran Khan is the Prime Minister of Pakistan & has set a lofty goal of planting 10 billion trees around the country. In other words, the billion tree tsunami campaign will expanded to the whole country. He aims to replicate the Billion Tree Tsunami Model across the country in the name of “10 Billion Tree Tsunami”. This massive campaign already launched on September 2, 2018. This countrywide campaign aims to plant 10 billion trees in a record time spam of five years to neutralize the effects of global warming & deforestation.