Earth Day clean-up drive, awareness activity at Rawal Lake

Islamabad: Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), which works under the Ministry of Climate Change, has dedicated volunteers named Friends of Margallah Hills National Park (FoMHNP) who organized cleanup and awareness activities on Earth Day 2024 at Kinara Park, Rawal Lake here. The co-hosts were the US Embassy and SMEC, supported by IWMB staff. There were student participants from NUST.

This year the theme of Earth Day (April 22, 2024) is ‘Planet versus Plastics’. This theme emphasizes the need for collective action to restore and heal the planet’s ecosystems, combat climate change and preserve biodiversity. Earth Day has enormous significance as a global initiative to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire action. It offers individuals, communities, organizations and governments the opportunity to come together and participate in activities aimed at protecting the planet for current and future generations.

FoMHNP is always aware of the increasing use of plastic and its effects on the environment. Therefore, we routinely create awareness among tourists, visitors and hikers through our volunteers to stop carrying plastic packaging items on various routes at MHNP. IWMB announced ‘Zero Plastic Policy’ for trails almost four years ago. The volunteers routinely educate visitors about the harmful effects of plastic when discarded in the forest.

With the help of IWMB staff and FoMHNP volunteers, plastic bottles, shoppers and food packaging are largely checked on routes. However, this is not enough; more efforts are needed to educate the general public about the limited use of plastic to ultimately complete the transition to a plastic-free environment.

Today’s activity was a symbolic representation of several organizations joining forces to further their commitment to a plastic-free planet. During the event, Andrew Schofer, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Islamabad, highlighted the effects of plastic on the environment and how it has a major impact on our daily lives.

Tassadaq Malik, Founder and Chairman of FoMHNP, while speaking to the participants, spoke about the efforts of volunteers and how it has positively changed the mindset of people while developing ownership for MHNP. He explained that the consistent efforts can bring about change, which is shown as a positive impact on MHNP. During the two-hour activity, 50 bags of plastic waste were collected from Kinara Park.