People in Peshawar plant saplings as part of a campaign to plant 10 billion trees in the country. EPA
People in Peshawar plant saplings as part of a campaign to plant 10 billion trees in the country. EPA
People in Peshawar plant saplings as part of a campaign to plant 10 billion trees in the country. EPA
People in Peshawar plant saplings as part of a campaign to plant 10 billion trees in the country. EPA

Why Pakistan is planting 10 billion trees to combat climate change and economic challenges


Sarwat Nasir
  • English
  • Arabic

Pakistan’s large-scale tree planting project has become a central part of its climate adaptation strategy, conservation experts have said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

The South Asian country ranks among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Speakers at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress said the nation’s Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme, formerly called the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, is the country's answer to the climate change crisis.

Asim Jamal, project manager for Pakistan at IUCN, said the programme was launched in 2019 in some cities and has since expanded nationwide. “The project target was planting three billion over the period of four years, but 2.2 billion trees have been planted,” he said.

Pakistan has a range of ecosystems, including forests, rangelands and river basins, that have experienced long-term degradation due to deforestation, the illegal timber trade and poor management.

Helping planet and generating jobs

Mr Jamal said the tree planting project was designed to restore tree cover and to create economic opportunities. He said 2.2 million green jobs have been generated by the programme in Pakistan, of which 1.3 million have gone to youths, 874,634 to adult men and more than 7,000 to adult women.

These include roles dedicated to forest regeneration protection, forest fire management and the raising of tree saplings.

Given the project's success, Mr Jamal said the Pakistani government has decided to extend it for another four years with an investment of 70 million rupees ($247,490). Pakistan has faced increasing environmental pressure because of climate change.

Rising temperatures, heatwaves and melting glacier ice in the Himalayas have increased the risk of sudden floods. Mr Jamal said the scale of the restoration programme was a response to growing concerns over ecosystem loss.

The IUCN Congress brings together government officials, industry experts and conservation groups to discuss nature restoration and environmental policy. Pakistan is among the countries presenting case studies on conservation initiatives implemented during periods of economic and climate challenges. More private sector companies in Pakistan are also getting involved with nature restoration projects.

Amir Iqbal, chief executive of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, has been working with IUCN for the past eight years and said their work is mostly carried out in Tharparker, a district in Sindh province in Pakistan.

“This is one of the most undelivered parts of the country. We are striving to make this district an SDG compliant district by 2030,” he said. “Pakistan is among the top five most vulnerable countries in terms of environmental impact, and we see that every two to three years, there are floods coming in.

“In 2022 we had a massive flood, which impacted almost 33 million people, and had an economic impact of more than $40 billion,” he said. “Even two months ago, we saw another flood and there are people still without homes, food and clean drinking water.”

He said his company has planted 1.2 million trees in Tharparker using drip irrigation, with the trees having a 72 per cent survival rate. The district is a semi-arid desert region and typically receives only 100mm to 300mm of rainfall a year.

Mr Jamal said Pakistan would continue to present its restoration results at international environmental conferences. He said the next phase of the Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme would include new plantation sites and management zones designed to protect tree cover.

The project was launched during the government of former prime minister Imran Khan. He is currently in jail following a series of convictions in corruption cases, which he denies.

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UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

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Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

RACE CARD

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

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People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

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Brief scores:

Southampton 2

Armstrong 13', Soares 20'

Manchester United 2

Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'

Leading all-time NBA scorers

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
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England XI for second Test

Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

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  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
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The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
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The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Mobile phone packages comparison
McLaren GT specs

Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh875,000

On sale: now

Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

While you're here
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Virtual banks explained

What is a virtual bank?

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.

What’s the draw in Asia?

Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.

Is Hong Kong short of banks?

No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year. 

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Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE

TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Bio

Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind. 
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Updated: October 16, 2025, 9:19 AM