Pakistan is planting more than a billion trees to transform the country’s barren landscapes into forests known as, 'Green Gold’. The new trees help protect against erosion, strengthen riverbanks and decrease the risk of floods, increase the chances of rain and help mitigate the chances of climate change.

The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa decided to plant a billion trees in 2014 and restores 3,500 square kilometres. A total of 16,000 labours have been planting trees since 2015. They have planted 900,000 fast growing eucalyptus trees and more than 42 tree species in total. And the project has exceeded its target of one billion trees at the estimated cost of $169 million. Its supporters say the value of the project goes far beyond money as it’s protecting a region for future generations and creating a huge new habitat for wildlife.