World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June every year and serves as a platform to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues with this year’s theme as “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”. As a plant biologist with expertise in halophytic plants, Dr Farah Nisar, Lecturer at Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, emphasises the importance of plantation to cope with the current environmental crisis. In the face of current global challenges such as climate change, extreme heat events, biodiversity loss and pollution, plantations play a key role in addressing such problems. “It is imperative that we prioritise reforestation and urban greening initiatives. Governments, organisations, and individuals all play important roles in this effort, she says.