Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), in collaboration with the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, has launched a ‘Go Green Islamabad Campaign’ on Wednesday to plant a million trees in the federal capital next year.



The campaign was formally launched on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by ICT Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat and ICCI President Ahmed Waheed by planting a tree in front of the ICCI building.



Shafqaat said that ICCI has always actively participated in positive projects for the federal capital and launching the ‘Go Green Islamabad’ campaign was another positive step. He added that the ICCI was the first business chamber of the country which has planned to plant a million trees in the federal capital that will support the prime minister’s initiative of Green Pakistan.



He assured the ICCI of full cooperation from the ICT administration in making this campaign successful. In this regard, he said that the ICT administration will identify places for the ICCI to plant trees to make the environment of Islamabad healthier.



Shafqat, though, lifted the lid on a major problem for plantation drives in the city that the survival rate of plants was just a mere 50 per cent as animals and termites damage trees. He stressed that good care should be taken of the trees which are planted to improve their survival rate.



ICCI President Waheed said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had set a target of planting 10 billion trees across the country in five years and launching the campaign in the federal capital is aimed to support this initiative.



Apart from involving the ICT administration, Waheed said that they will also involve other civic departments such as the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC), the Islamabad Police, diplomats, schools and other institutions.



The ICCI, he said, will welcome any institution which wants to become a part of this campaign.



Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2019.