PTI govt's biggest challenge to beat environmental degradation: PM Imran Khan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that among the most important challenges that his government faces, overcoming the environmental degradation within the country was one among them
The premier, speaking during the launching ceremony of the Billion Tree Honey Initiative — a part of the Clean and Green Pakistan campaign — spoke on several matters, including the most important challenges that Pakistan faces.
The green Pakistan campaign aims at promoting tree plantation to support the assembly of honey within the country under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP).
Addressing the event, PM Imran Khan said the state must lookout of its environment because the forest cover within the country is a smaller amount than the world's average forest cover.
"We have polluted our rivers [...] The groundwater is additionally getting polluted," he said.
The prime minister noted how the air quality in Lahore often surpasses the "danger level" which ultimately, has an adverse impact on the elderly and therefore the children.
Explaining the rationale behind the bad air quality, he said that it had been "an unplanned city" which in last 10 years, Pakistan has finished over 70% of its forest cover and replaced it with concrete.
Talking about the longer term challenges that Pakistan faces, he said that the country was the fifth-most affected one within the world thanks to global climate change .
The premier said that each regime that assumed office "only considered its five years" which his government's biggest challenge was to repair the environmental degradation — a long-term plan.
"It was for the primary time that a government decided to plant tress, but people made fun folks and still do as they didn't think beyond their five years," he said.
Speaking about the initiative, he said that it might be fruitful since the govt would be backing it for the primary time in history. "We have the simplest vegetables within the country, but we cannot export it thanks to quality checks."
The Ministry of Science and Technology will play its imperative part in keep quality checks, he said, noting that this is able to bump the export of honey and other items.
The premier said that the second challenge that Pakistan faces was to extend exports, which might benefit the country economically and environmentally — and this initiative helps during this regard.
"The third challenge, that the youth wants employment and this initiative will help in overcoming it. The youth will get jobs through it," he said
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