Thursday, November 06, 2008

By Ali Raza

LAHORE

CALIFORNIA State University, CHICO, USA has expressed its willingness to establish an environmental research centre at one of the oldest nurseries of the country and requested the Punjab government to save the botanical garden from commercialism.

The issue of razing one of the oldest nurseries in Pakistan gained international attention after the Model Town Society (MTS) got possession of the 28 kanal land with over 15,000 plants including many rare species some days back.

A local civil court had already issued contempt of court notices to the MTS office-bearers for displacing the owners who leased the nursery.

Professor Iftikhar Ahmed, Environmentalist and Botanical Gardens Consultant, California and Oregon, USA called the correspondent from USA and raised serious concern over the taking over of the Mian Brothers Nursery by the MTS, and said the government should intervene to rescue the plants.

“Unfortunately, I was recently informed that the Model Town Society again has attacked the garden. This time they are heavily armed, with some corrupt police and apparently they have blockaded the garden and they are readying to bulldoze the garden. It is difficult to understand how such an action can be allowed,” he said.

Talking about the project of establishing a research centre in Mian Brothers Nursery, he said, “We have great interest in protecting educational and natural resources. Here in the University of California, we have considered the possibility of establishing a cooperative environmental sciences programme with Pakistan, possibly using the garden as a site to establish an environmental education centre. While it is agreed that such a programme might be highly beneficial to the citizens of Pakistan, we were advised not to pursue such a venture until there is greater stability in Pakistan. The suggestion was made not because of local instability, but because of the obvious regional disruptions.”

He revealed that in the last meeting of Environment studies department of California State University, CHICO it was decided that the university would establish an environmental sciences and horticultural studies research centre in the Mian Brothers Nursery & Botanical Garden without destroying the environment of the existing garden and no trees would be cut for this purpose.

About the funds, he said the project would be run through NGOs and the university would give scholarships to the local students. The funds will be released not at once and will take time, he maintained.

He also revealed that the Director of the Environmental Department has also written letters to the Pakistan embassy in Washington DC and US embassy in Pakistan regarding the issue.

He said he also wrote letters to the Minister of Environment seeking his intervention into the issue.

He said the university would soon send a letter of support to the chief minister of Punjab and would request the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court as well as the Federal government in Pakistan to save this precious nursery and rare species of plants, which are at the brink of extinction.

Prof Iftikhar said that these kind of brutal activities against the local environment (destroying plants trees and green spaces) would negatively affect the local environment.

He added that such situations create more difficulties in attracting international environmental protection funds as well as educational funds to Pakistan.

On the other hand, when contacted, MTS President Col (Retd) Tahir Kardar said the MTS would not allow establishment of any such centre in the nursery. He said the land was the property of MTS and the society has already approved construction of a shopping mall at the site.

thenews.com.pk