Green and Clean Lodhran Campaign

Climate Change is widely considered as the biggest threat to global development. Lodhran Pilot Project (LPP) believes that, without urgent action, climate change will severely undermine development and exacerbate the problem of poverty. In view of this, the CEO and President of LPP decided to take some concrete steps to make Lodhran a clean, sustainable and environment friendly city. Consequently, in mid of July the Green & Clean Lodhran campaign was launched in partnership with the district administration. In this regard, on 1st August an MoU was also signed with the district administration to formalize the ongoing cooperation. Our theory of change is based on community engagement and participation. Keeping this in view, LPP team kicked off the first phase of its campaign through a house-to-house mobilization effort. In 8 wards of the city, community committees were formed, which included 10 male and 5 female members. These committees and LLP team sensitized local communities about the campaign and significance of environment protection. The second phase of the campaign involved installation of waste-bins and plantation of trees. LPP set and achieved the target of installing 48 waste-bins and planting 10000 saplings. Moreover, 75 tons of waste, which was piling up in different areas of the city, was successfully collected and transported to the dumping site. Tree plantation on various public spots set an excellent example for residents of the area. LPP team also undertook a small-scale advocacy campaign to build upon its cleanliness and plantation activities. In this regard, posters and banners were placed on prominent places of the city and brochures were disseminated. This made the campaign quite visible, encouraged people and their communities to join in, and attracted an overwhelmingly positive response. To give further impetus to the campaign, LPP organized an awareness walk on August 13, 2018. In recognition of LPP’s efforts, the Deputy Commissioner Lodhran presented a shield of appreciation to the CEO of LPP, Dr. Abdul Saboor, on August 14, 2018. The LPP also coordinated with district administration, Municipal Corporation and Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project (PYWD) to organize a joint event to acknowledge the support and efforts of citizens in making the Green & Clean Lodhran campaign successful. The first phase of the campaign was a great success in terms of achieving the set plantation and cleanliness targets, mobilizing and involving citizens, and engaging relevant stakeholders including local communities, district administration, business houses, environmentalists, NGOs and educational institutions. By following the same approach, LPP aims to plant 100,000 more trees across the Lodhran district during the next phase of its campaign. The Clean and Green Lodhran campaign will make a meaningful contribution to the national target of “10 Billion Tree Tsunami” and Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and Goal 15 to promote forests on the surface of earth.