PESHAWAR:Speakers at a workshop termed devising a National Action Plan as prerequisite to protect and rehabilitate forests and landscapes saying through this strategy the impact of environmental changes could effectively be dealt with.
The two days workshop on consultation for preparation of a National Action Plan was organized here at the Pakistan Forest Institute for devising a strategy to minimize the impact of environmental changes on forests and landscapes.
The workshop was addressed by DG Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Inspector General of Forests and Climate Change Islamabad, Abdul Qadir Shah, Director Forests Research, Dr Anwar Ali, representative of the World Bank, Chris and environmental and forest experts.
DG Akbar Khan said with the assistance of Food Agriculture Organization, World Bank and stakeholders a National Action Plan was being formulated for the protection and rehabilitation of the forests and landscapes.
For the purpose, he said experts and stakeholders were being called in from all the provinces for consultations to prepare workable recommendations that would be sent to the government for approval.
Under these recommendations, DG Akbar Khan said, effective planning would be made for promotion and protection of forest areas besides allocation of a budget for this purpose. Under the plan, he said donors and investors would also be lured for investment in this sector.
Akbar Khan said by making investment in this sector we would be able to minimize the harmful impact of environmental degradation and promote and rehabilitate our agriculture and forest lands.
Other speakers said the climate change has also badly affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and besides disturbing the capacity of organic food production and raising environmental challenges, it has also hit other important sectors.
By devising this National Action Plan, they said the country would be able to effectively tackle all these challenges. The speakers also demanded a ban on establishment of housing societies and other structures on agricultural lands.