Why Pakistan is planting 10 billion trees to combat climate change and economic challenges

Country has planted 2.2 billion trees since 2019, key conservation summit in Abu Dhabi is told

People in Peshawar plant saplings as part of a campaign to plant 10 billion trees in the country. EPA

Pakistan’s large-scale tree planting project has become a central part of its climate adaptation strategy, conservation experts have said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

The South Asian country ranks among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Speakers at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress said the nation’s Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme, formerly called the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, is the country's answer to the climate change crisis.

Asim Jamal, project manager for Pakistan at IUCN, said the programme was launched in 2019 in some cities and has since expanded nationwide. “The project target was planting three billion over the period of four years, but 2.2 billion trees have been planted,” he said.

Pakistan has a range of ecosystems, including forests, rangelands and river basins, that have experienced long-term degradation due to deforestation, the illegal timber trade and poor management.

Helping planet and generating jobs

Mr Jamal said the tree planting project was designed to restore tree cover and to create economic opportunities. He said 2.2 million green jobs have been generated by the programme in Pakistan, of which 1.3 million have gone to youths, 874,634 to adult men and more than 7,000 to adult women.

These include roles dedicated to forest regeneration protection, forest fire management and the raising of tree saplings.

Given the project's success, Mr Jamal said the Pakistani government has decided to extend it for another four years with an investment of 70 million rupees ($247,490). Pakistan has faced increasing environmental pressure because of climate change.

Rising temperatures, heatwaves and melting glacier ice in the Himalayas have increased the risk of sudden floods. Mr Jamal said the scale of the restoration programme was a response to growing concerns over ecosystem loss.

The IUCN Congress brings together government officials, industry experts and conservation groups to discuss nature restoration and environmental policy. Pakistan is among the countries presenting case studies on conservation initiatives implemented during periods of economic and climate challenges. More private sector companies in Pakistan are also getting involved with nature restoration projects.

Amir Iqbal, chief executive of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, has been working with IUCN for the past eight years and said their work is mostly carried out in Tharparker, a district in Sindh province in Pakistan.

“This is one of the most undelivered parts of the country. We are striving to make this district an SDG compliant district by 2030,” he said. “Pakistan is among the top five most vulnerable countries in terms of environmental impact, and we see that every two to three years, there are floods coming in.

“In 2022 we had a massive flood, which impacted almost 33 million people, and had an economic impact of more than $40 billion,” he said. “Even two months ago, we saw another flood and there are people still without homes, food and clean drinking water.”

He said his company has planted 1.2 million trees in Tharparker using drip irrigation, with the trees having a 72 per cent survival rate. The district is a semi-arid desert region and typically receives only 100mm to 300mm of rainfall a year.

Mr Jamal said Pakistan would continue to present its restoration results at international environmental conferences. He said the next phase of the Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme would include new plantation sites and management zones designed to protect tree cover.

The project was launched during the government of former prime minister Imran Khan. He is currently in jail following a series of convictions in corruption cases, which he denies.

World Conservation Congress – in pictures

The opening ceremony of the IUCN's World Conservation Congress takes place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). All photos: Victor Besa / The National

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, at the congress

Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco speaking at the event, which aims to raise awareness of pressing environmental challenges and threats to biodiversity

IUCN President Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak

Attendees include leaders from government, science, business and indigenous communities

Surangel S Whipps, President of Palau

Participants in the opening ceremony. Organisers expect the congress, from October 9-15, to draw 10,000 visitors

Minister of Climate Change and Environment Dr Amna Al Dahak

Visitors to the congress have travelled from as far afield as Colombia and Peru

The UAE has set up a pavilion at the World Conservation Congress

The Russian pavilion at the event in Abu Dhabi

Visitors from Kenya and India at the conservation event