Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam has urged the provincial forest departments to set up permanent monitoring systems in their respective territories and make the best use of technology to curb deforestation tackled with the issue of forest degradation.
He made the statement while addressing the event organized jointly by the Ministry of Climate Change and the UN-sponsored Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Initiative and Pakistan REDD+ Readiness Program, according to a press release issued by the ministry.
PM’s aide wanted the provincial forestry departments to make full use of the latest equipment provided under the World Bank-sponsored REDD+ Pakistan project for monitoring purposes.
He said that sustained monitoring of forest resources and changes in forest lands and their overall outlook is at the heart of efforts for stemming deforestation, degradation of forests, and environmentally harmful forest land-use changes, said the press release.
Forest monitoring equipment already issued to provinces
The climate change ministry has already provided the latest forest monitoring equipment along with GIS machinery under the REDD+ Pakistan project, which is funded by the World Bank, to all the provinces and territories.
Malik Amin hoped that the drones which are distributed today in the event would further assist provinces/territories to undertake real-time monitoring of forestry resources including the ongoing forestry initiatives in the country such as, the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP) launched under the PM Imran Khan’s vision for Clean and Green Pakistan.
Benefits of using technology for forest monitoring:
The PM’s aide said that scientific and technological forest monitoring was considered globally of paramount importance due to the following reasons:
- It helps improve ability of forest scientists, researchers and policymakers to survey and make decisions
- It helps measure progress of any country’s forestation achievements
- It supports international reporting of climate change data
- It allows better planning for forest conservation
- It aids sustainable use of the forests
Malik Amin Aslam warned that deforestation and forest degradation are serious problems that need to be tackled effectively. If not done so, the concentration of greenhouse gases would increase and so would the temperature levels of Earth such that it would no longer support human life.
“Any cut in the rate of deforestation and forest degradation has the benefit of averting a significant source of heat-trapping carbon emissions and addressing other environmental and social problems as a result of deforestation,” he remarked.
About REDD++ Project:
REDD+ (or REDD-plus) is a climate change mitigation solution in developing countries that functions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
It primarily aims for “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and promoting conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in the countries”.