LAHORE: To address an increase in air pollution, the Lahore Conservation Society/Lahore Bachao Tehreek (LCS) has arranged various tree plantation drives in the past. However, this year, the LCS added a little twist to the campaign by launching a poster campaign alongside.

The posters carry public service messages showing the irreversible and negative effects of pollution on human lives and the city’s environment. The posters can be spotted on M.M. Alam and The Mall, and will now be put up in schools and colleges to spread awareness among the youth.

The LCS has also launched a Facebook campaign to supplement the plantation drive, which has managed to reach approximately 30,000 people, according to recent numbers.

Shedding light on the purpose of the project, Wardah Rafaqat, a core team member said: “A lot of people know that air pollution is increasing in Lahore. However, they don’t exactly know how dire the situation is. The issue is spoken of in vague terms that have little impact.”

“Through these posters, we hope to increase awareness about severity of the issue by using facts such as 111,000 people die each year in Pakistan due to health issues caused by air pollution. The posters are in Urdu, so we are able to reach out to the masses and give them a pathway to contribute to reduction in air pollution and initiate proactive efforts,” she told Dawn.

Adding to this, Ali Amjad, the youth leadership coordinator at LCS, revealed that the campaign is creating awareness by motivating Lahorites to play their part.

He explained: “According to the campaign, if someone takes a picture of the campaign poster, shares it on their social media profiles and then sends a screenshot to LCS, the organisation plants two trees in the name of the person.”

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2016