Pakistan, March 23 -- World Water Day and World Forest Day have passed, yet their warnings echo in vain across a nation where rivers bleed saline, and trees smoulder into ash. With Pakistan's per capita water availability plummeting to 908 cubic meters (a staggering 40 % drop since 2000) and forests occupying a mere 4.5% of the land, the country stands on the precipice of environmental collapse. The flashy campaigns launched to mark these days (sapling-planting ceremonies and social media blitzes) serve only as a feeble gesture amid a crisis that demands urgent action, akin to handing out band-aids at the scene of a haemorrhage.

Giving credit where due, Punjab's government has taken tentative steps on both fronts. The "Urban Forest Proje...