Pakistan to host World Environment Day today

• Pakistan is hosting World Environment Day today.
  
• This year, the theme is "ecosystem restoration" and focuses on resetting our relationship with nature.
  
• Pakistan will highlight environmental issues and showcase the country's own initiatives and its role in global efforts.
  

ISLAMABAD: In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, Pakistan is hosting World Environment Day on Saturday (today).

The day will be celebrated across the world through various events and activities, in line with the latest coronavirus regulations. This year, the theme is "ecosystem restoration" and focuses on resetting our relationship with nature.

Pakistan in recognition to its lead role in implementing promising “Ecosystem Restoration Initiatives” was given hosting of World Environment Day where it will showcase its success stories in nature conservation.

The main event in Pakistan will be held on June 5 at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad where the official activities will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan and live-streamed across the globe through official and social portals.

The prime minister would formally announce achievements of the first billion trees plantation target under the flagship Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation (TBTTP) project, meeting the recent Bonn Challenge pledge, the successful restoration of 0.3 million hectares of forest cover in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province under the first Bonn Challenge pledge, 15 national parks along with marine protected area established under the Protected Areas Initiative, and finally the Green Financing Initiative introduced by Pakistan at global foras for Ecosystem Restoration Fund, said Amin Aslam, SAPM on Climate Change at a press conference.

Read more: Pakistan all set to host World Environment Day 2021 on June 5

UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030

The day will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

The UN Decade is intended to massively scale up the restoration of the degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis, prevent the loss of a million species and enhance food security, water supply, and livelihoods.

Major corporations, non-governmental organisations, communities, governments, and celebrities from across the world adopt World Environment Day to champion environmental causes.

Held annually since 1974, the day has also become a vital platform for promoting progress on the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Objective of the programme

In a statement on the occasion, the prime minister has said the objective of this program was to increase tree cover, protect wildlife – diminishing due to lack to habitat, increase mangroves.

He said that the government was also working on the restoration of wetlands by using floodwaters and replenishing the water table.

The prime minister said that as the whole process also helped in creating green jobs, the government created 80,000 jobs for women and youth during the situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

At a time when the people got unemployed due to lockdown situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government enabled them, particularly women and youth in remote areas, to generate income by growing nurseries, he added.