Pakistan says it is fully committed to the objectives of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) and offers assistance to the member countries by sharing technical expertise on forest restoration in dryland areas. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said while addressing the MGI Summit 2022 at the Conference of Parties (COP27) platform that the MGI was a big step in right direction to save the planet from the disasters of climate change.

According to a press statement received by WealthPK, the prime minister said at the summit that Pakistan was willing to provide assistance to all MGI member countries by sharing experiences and technical expertise on forest restoration in dryland areas and mangroves, management of protected areas, carbon stock assessment and establishment of forest monitoring systems.

Shehbaz Sharif said nature-based solutions are at the heart of Pakistan’s ambitious climate action agenda. He emphasised that nature-based initiatives, like afforestation, helped countries build adaptive capacities, sequester greenhouse gas emissions, as well as avert and minimised damage due to climate change at national and regional levels.

The prime minister pointed out that Pakistan and many other member countries included in the MGI were facing accelerated ecological imbalances induced due to climate change effects. In this regard, he mentioned a cascade of extreme catastrophes in the form of unprecedented rains, devastating floods, prolonged heat waves, relentless forest fires, glacial lake outburst floods and many such climate-induced damages.

Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan fully endorses the guiding principles of a shared vision of sustainable futures, effective collaboration, regional and international linkages, innovation-driven actions and science-based decision-making. He expressed confidence that it would go a long way in making this initiative a life-changing success for the member states and their vulnerable populations.

The prime minister mentioned that the objectives of the MGI were aligned with the objectives of Pakistan’s National Forest Policy and the Green Pakistan Programme aimed at protecting the country’s forests, wildlife and ecosystems by 2030. He highlighted the Green Pakistan Programme, launched in 2016, as the flagship national forestation initiative ongoing with an enhanced target of planting 3.3 billion trees by 2023 and tripling it by 2030.

The programme, he said, had brought exemplary gains in terms of enhancing forest cover and conserving biodiversity, while also providing thousands of green jobs for local communities. Shehbaz Sharif mentioned that Pakistan’s Protected Areas Initiative had increased 3.6 million hectares of protected areas for safeguarding the country’s threatened flora and fauna.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk