‘Govt to achieve target of 6% forestation area by 2015’
By Ali Imran

Islamabad—Federal minister for Environment, Local Government and Rural Development Syed Wajid Hussain Bokhari has said that government is implementing the national climate change action plan and Promote the use of ozone friendly technologies to effectively address challenges posed by climate change.
Federal minister was speaking to a group of environmental protection specialists on the occasion of world mountain day at ministry of environment Islamabad on December 11, 2007. He said that government has planned to increase forest cover including state-owned and private forest as percentage of the total land area, from the current level of 4.8 percent to 5.7 percent in 2010 and 6 percent in 2015 and wildlife conservation area to be increased from current level of 11.3 percent to 12 percent in 2015.The Ministry of Environment will soon launch a mega forestry project besides ongoing 48 projects on climate change to achieve the desired targets, he added.
How we respond to the issue of climate change now will determine the shape of our future – our economy, environment, and communities” he said. Referring to impacts of climate change on mountains, the minister said that government plan to provide alternative sources of energy, like piped natural gas, LPG, solar energy and micro-hydel power stations, to the local inhabitants to reduce the pressure on natural forests, and to substitute firewood in the upland ecosystems.
Regarding continuous depletion of water resources, he said that the only therapy available to us is to construct at least two mega dams including Kalabagh within next five years.