ISLAMABAD
Pakistan received major international recognition as its flagship initiative “Reversing Deforestation and Degradation in High Conservation Value Chilgoza Pine Forests” was honored as one of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration World Restoration Flagships at FAO headquarters in Rome, during FAO’s 80th Anniversary and the World Food Forum.
Implemented between 2018 and 2025 under The Restoration Initiative, the project represents a strong collaboration between the Government of Pakistan – Ministry of Climate Change, Provincial Forest Departments, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said in a FAO press release issued here.
The work focuses on conserving and restoring Pakistan’s unique Chilgoza pine forests across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, Advisor to the Prime Minister, highlighted that the initiative restored 3,800 hectares of degraded forest land, developed sustainable forest management plans for 69,000 hectares, and planted over one million Chilgoza pine seedlings.