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By Rasheed Ali
LAHORE, Jul 10 (APP):As Desi calender month of Sawan begins on Friday (July 11), a stirring message echoes from village elders to city residents: “If you plant dry wood in Sawan, it turns green.” This ancient belief, passed down through generations, captures a simple yet powerful truth — Sawan is the time when trees, even cuttings that seem lifeless, can revive with astonishing vitality. And in an era marked by scorching summers and intensifying climate unpredictability, this cultural wisdom is being woven into Pakistan’s nationwide plantation campaign.
For centuries, the people of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan have planted during Sawan, trusting the month’s monsoon winds to breathe life into saplings overnight. This seasonal timing is now mirrored in government-led efforts. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the 2025 Spring Tree Plantation Drive, targeting 41.7 million saplings across Pakistan. With momentum from monsoon and cultural alignment during Sawan, this drive gains new meaning — and urgency.
Among the trees championed during this period, one stands tall: the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). Known for its resilience, neem can tolerate heat up to 55 °C and cold down to 10 °C, making it an ideal climate warrior. Researchers also note that a mature twelve-foot neem offers shade and oxygen production equivalent to three air-conditioners, acting as a natural cooling system for homes and communities during the night.
What’s more, neem continues releasing oxygen at night, unlike many trees that slow their metabolism after dusk. Its deep canopy not only provides relief from scorching daytime temperatures but continues to work its magic round the clock .
A neem sapling in Pakistani nurseries costs between ?. 50–100, making it accessible to families, schools, and community initiatives. Its benefits are plentiful: it purifies the air, cools urban scapes, and even serves as a natural mosquito repellent.
Another tree, called Bakain (Melia azedarach), commonly known as Chinaberry, is gaining attention as an ideal species for climate-resilient urban and rural plantation in Pakistan. A fast-growing, deciduous member of the Meliaceae family, Bakain is especially suited for the scorching summers of Punjab, Sindh, and parts of Balochistan, where temperatures can exceed 50°C.
Growing up to 15–20 meters tall, the tree is easily recognised by its fragrant lilac flowers, compound bipinnate leaves, and small yellowish fruits. It is highly drought-tolerant once established and thrives in sandy to loamy, well-drained soils—making it ideal for arid and semi-arid environments.
One of Bakain’s standout qualities is its dense canopy, which offers substantial shade and reduces surface temperatures through transpiration, thereby helping to create cooler microclimates. Its allelopathic properties—natural chemical secretions that inhibit competing vegetation—make it effective but require thoughtful integration into mixed plantations.
Due to its resilience, pest resistance, rapid canopy development, and low maintenance needs, Bakain is increasingly being included in government and community-led tree plantation drives—particularly during the monsoon season.
Neem and Bakain aren’t alone in this green tapestry. Other revered species — jamun (Syzygium cumini), sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo), kachnar (Bauhinia variegata), peepal (Ficus religiosa), poplar, pulkan, umm guava, and more — are being planted across fields, city streets, and school grounds. These trees share common traits: environmental friendliness, rapid shade cover, and cultural significance.
In Karachi, the CFC Pakistan’s ‘Go Neem’ project has spread neem saplings throughout urban neighborhoods to mitigate heat island effects and improve air quality. Meanwhile, in Lahore and across Punjab, mass-planting events during both spring and monsoon seasons have broken national records — including a feat of planting 109,000 saplings in 60 seconds. Similar events nationwide stress planting — but also caring for — the trees, ensuring sapling survival beyond ceremonial days.
Pakistan’s plantation initiatives are not just about hitting national targets. The “Green Pakistan Program 2019–25” aims for 945 million new plants, sustainable forest management, and improved biodiversity. President Asif Ali Zardari has consistently called for enhanced forest cover during monsoon plantation campaigns, championing the neem tree’s virtues and encouraging youth participation.
Analysts say that well-timed planting, as during Sawan, combined with scientific species selection and community care, can dramatically increase survival rates and ecological benefits. Trees help filter pollutants, lower ambient temperatures, prevent soil erosion, and boost mental well-being. As Pakistan remains among the top ten countries most affected by climate change, these benefits could be lifesaving.
This July, as Sawan rains bless the earth, Pakistan gears itself for a nationwide green revival. Families are urged to prepare: buying affordable neem seedlings, gathering cuttings, prepping planting sites, and lining up volunteers. Schools, mosques, community groups, and local governments are mobilising events—no one is left out.
Elderly farmers recall tales of “dead sticks turning green” overnight in Sawan, yet scientists affirm these stories: high moisture levels combined with physiological dormancy lifting in cuttings make it true. For neem and other hardy species, this window of growth is magical—and mathematical.
The agricultural ministry has distributed guides on how to root cuttings, prepare soil, space plants for maximum canopy, and carry out post-planting care like mulching and watering — especially crucial in early-growth weeks.
At its heart, the Sawan plantation narrative blends folk wisdom, scientific insight, and national resolve. It’s no longer just about symbolism; it’s a strategic environmental intervention.
On July 11, Pakistan’s fields, streets, and schoolyards will burst into green—the dry earth will come alive. Neem and its companions will stitch shelter against heat, purify the air, and stand as sentinels against climate threats.
So this Sawan, the message is clear: ‘Plant trees. Save lives.’
Amid rising temperatures and urban stress, our greatest shield is green—and Sawan is our moment.