Under a ruling, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has asked the concerned authorities to make rooftop gardens an essential part of multi-storey buildings to fight against environmental pollution. The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has been asked to issue notices to owners of all tall buildings in this regard. As concerns about climate change and dwindling natural resources grow, green roofs have become increasingly popular all over the world. Pakistan, which is the most vulnerable country to environmental dangers, essentially needs these unconventional methods to preserve the environment. After the LHC order, the government needs to pass a legislation in this regard making coverage of roofs with plantation as a must for every multi-storey building. There are multiple benefits of the practice and the technique can be applied on roofs after a little investment. Covering concrete with plants can lower the surrounding air temperature, filter dirty storm water and reduce a building’s energy use. Reports estimate that a green roof can reduce air-conditioning use in a building by as much as 75 percent.
City planners need to set up green roofs to mitigate the negative effects of urban sprawl. Already trees are continuously depleting due to the persistent pressure of traffic and urbanisation. While our forest area is shrinking. The international criterion requires that 33 percent of a country’s total area should be covered with forests for sustainable environment whereas Pakistan has less than five percent area covered in forests, which is a cause for concern. Moreover, the depletion of trees is also affecting the temperature of different cities and causing serious health issues that might aggravate if not controlled through the safety of the environment. In order to preserve the environment and recover forest coverage of the country, planting trees should receive due emphasis, and more and more trees need to be planted, wherever it is possible. To this end, government should encourage people for tree-plantation campaign, and urge the latter to focus on protecting and nurturing the planted trees in open places and even on their rooftops.
