CCC-Trees

Capital Citizens Committee set to extend support for preservation of old trees

Capital Citizens Committee is all set to extend its support to Capital Development Authority (CDA) for preservation of old trees in ten different locations of the capital city.

The members of the Committee are likely to meet officials of the environment directorate of  CDA in the next coming days to work out modalities to ensure preservation of old trees, generally termed ‘unsung wealth of nature’, in the federal capital.

The Committee comprises Helga Ahmad, Dr. Essa Daudpota, Tahira Abdullah, Arshad Abbasi, Sara Mahmood, Ghazala Minallah, Foqia Sadik Khan, Samar Minallah, Amna Paracha, Soraya Zia and Tayyab Rashid.

Helga Ahmad, a member of the Committee, said the proposed plan would pave the way for preservation of old trees in different locations such as Shah Allah Ditta, Suniari, Golra, Sector E-11, Dhela Saidan (G-14), Sector E-10, Saidpur, Aabpara, Trail-V and Zero Point. The trees that are to be preserved also include 1,200-year-old ‘Maa Te Nau Bechay (mother and nine children),” the name given to a banyan tree by villagers living in Suniari on Margalla Hills.

“Islamabad is considered one of the beautiful green cities in the world and it is our responsibility to protect its natural character so that coming generations can also be able to benefit from it,” she said.

It is pertinent to mention here that members of the Committee had written a letter to CDA after which director general of the environment directorate invited them for a meeting that led to preparation of a plan to preserve old trees in Islamabad.

Arshad Abbasi, an environmentalist and member of the Committee, said the Common Wealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 provides protection to three types of heritage places and items including World Heritage, National Heritage and Commonwealth Heritage.

”These trees are our heritage because these can be included in those unique objects that are valued by a community or a cultural group that possess historic, cultural, ecological or evolutionary values,” he said.

The members of the Committee would also present a plan that would make it easier for CDA to prepare or approve layout plan of the development projects without uprooting or damaging ‘tree wealth’ of the city.