LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has launched an initiative for geo-tagging trees in urban forests, parks and along green belts in the Punjab capital.

An Android application named `Regreen Lahore,` prepared in collaboration with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PTIB), has been introduced for the staff to be deputed for this purpose.

A spokesperson for the Parks and Horticulture Authority says that this is a pilot project which willbe replicated in other towns of the province after its success in Lahore.

He adds that most of the staff consists of members of the dengue squad who are already equipped with Android phones, so there will be no additional costforthe project.

The selected staff has been trained on how to use key features of the application at the PITB facility by IT experts and PHA Deputy Director Hassanul Haq. He hopes the task will be accomplished within a couple of months.

This attempt will help count the number of trees, along with their species, to create a tree database.This will enable authorities to determine the number of trees in a specific area, their types, and how many more plants are needed to combat intense smog and pollution in the city. It will also help prevent tree theft.

Previously, the Parks and Horticulture Authority had manually counted trees in Lahore by allotting a unique number in red paint to each plant in February 2020. However, the plan was soon abandoned after completing the job in Gulshan-e-Ravi, Iqbal Town, Racecourse Park, Jinnah Bagh, Gulberg, and along the canalbank.