Tree-planting program in Pakistan benefits out-of-work laborers and the environment

A 2018 photo shows trees in Pakistan.
(Image credit: Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands of laborers in Pakistan who were out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic are being hired by the government to plant millions of trees across the country.

To slow down the spread of COVID-19, the country went on lockdown late last month. Two years ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program, with the goal of planting that many trees over the course of five years in order to counter extreme weather linked to climate change. The program was briefly put on pause when the lockdown began, but Khan started it back up again, creating more than 63,600 jobs, Reuters reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.