Impact of Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project on Vegetation Cover of District Kohat, Pakistan

Abstract

Natural Vegetation is an essential component of earth’s natural environment, Understanding the environmental, social, and economic setup of any region is also crucial. Geospatial techniques, such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play important roles in providing spatial and chronological data. This work examines the impact of the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project on the vegetation of Kohat district in Pakistan. The research used satellite imagery and field measurements to assess the changes in vegetation cover before and after the implementation of the project. Multispectral images for the years 2012, 2014 and sentinel-2 images for 2016, 2018, and 2021 were used. To find out the impact of billion tree tsunami afforestation project on vegetation cover Google Earth Pro images were used to monitor and identify changes in vegetation cover in the study area. The image analysis revealed that tree cover in the district increased from 1.6% in 2012 to 3.35% in 2021. Vegetation covered area also increased from 32.33% in 2012 to 39.76% in 2021 in the study area while the barren land decreased from 64.94% in 2012 to 55.87% in 2021. The results also revealed that during Phase-I, total 10 sites have been analyzed to find out the change in vegetation cover, out of which in 4 sites the vegetation cover area has increased while in six designated sites no change was detected. Further during Phase-II total 54 sites were taken, 19 sites indicate increase in vegetation cover, while in remaining 35 sites no changed was observed in vegetation cover. Furthermore, during Phase-III total 19 sites were taken, 12 sites indicated increase in vegetation cover, in 3 sites vegetation cover has actually decreased, while no change was observed in five sites after Plantation. The study found that during the study periods the vegetation cover has been increased. However, it is hard to accept that increase in vegetation cover was due to Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project. These types of projects can out the world from the red and dangerous zone of the climate change. This increase in vegetation index was mainly due to increased precipitation in the region over the last ten years.