Shaheer Ahmed
Mother Nature has been affected by human activities. Climate change is one of the outcomes which has caused natural disasters. If we are not mindful of stopping and taking action, we are doomed. Many countries in the world have now come together to GO GREEN. This might help in reviving nature back to its original form, in the least form. To follow the lead, Pakistan is collaborating with Saudi Arabia in Going Green. This initiative is a new chapter in diplomatic ties between two countries.
The current government has been proactive in taking initiatives against Climate Change. Last year in 2021, the PM met with the Saudi Crown Prince at the “Middle East Green Initiative” (MGI) Summit in Riyadh. It was noted that the ‘Saudi Green Initiative and the MGI aligned closely with Pakistan’s Climate Change Initiatives – ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ and the ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’. Fast forward to 2022, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will collaborate to lessen the impacts of climate change and protect the socio-economic sectors related to it.
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, Senator Faisal Javed Khan said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will work closely to tackle climate change. Pakistan is going to provide technical assistance to the Saudi government to plant 10 billion trees. The green diplomacy between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will help to build up the environmental partnership. It is also a great opportunity to learn from each other’s green initiatives.
“Together we can and together we must tackle Climate Change”, he added.
Pakistan to provide technical assistance to the Saudi govt to plant 10 billion trees. Green diplomacy between Pakistan and KSA will help our environmental partnership
learn a lot from each other’s green initiatives. Together we can and together we must tackle #ClimateChange— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) February 9, 2022
Pakistan offers its experience in forestry to to collaborate with #SaudiGreenInitiative backed by strong green leaderships & visions of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman & Prime Minister Imran Khan. #Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will jointly work to tackle climate change.
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) February 9, 2022
Press conference at the Ministry of Climate
The press conference at the Ministry of Climate was presided by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam. He said “The KSA delegation wants to study Pakistan’s on-ground initiatives whereas, in the next phase, a joint working group will be created to spearhead the partnership under the Saudi Green Initiative. It was because of the successful nature conservation and ecosystem restoration endeavors under the world-acclaimed Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation project of the country that Pakistan was declared Asia Pacific Forestry Champion by the United Nations Environment Programme. They will visit our national parks, mangroves, and ten billion plantation sites.”
Saudi Delegation visits Pakistan
Dr. Khalid bin Abdullah, who was heading the Saudi delegation comprising seven members also embraced the occasion. He is the ‘chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Centre for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’. The delegation was on a visit to see the progress and implementation of the globally-acclaimed Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme and other green initiatives taken by Pakistan. Dr. Khalid said that the Saudi government also wants to implement the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme. He also said, “All these green initiatives are for greater collaboration between the two countries. Pakistan’s green initiatives are globally praised and we wanted to see it on the ground and visit in person and see the plantation sites of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation project. The Saudi Green initiative aims to plant 10 billion trees while rehabilitating 200 million hectares of degraded land.
The target also represents 4 percent of the global drive to reverse land degradation and 1 percent of the global effort to plant one trillion trees. As planned, 30pc of the kingdom or 600,000 square kilometers’ will be protected areas and efforts will be made to protect coastal environments.” He also said that the Saudi government will make more parks to focus on the indigenous species to counter the impact of climate change.
Climate Change – Some People Are Worth Melting But Not Mount Everest
