In Pakistan, an increase in the urban population in recent decades has led to rising demand for energy and so has consequently increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In this study, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted on a sample of 300 residential buildings in Lahore, and their CO2e emissions from electricity and natural gas consumption were calculated using IPCC methodology. The results show that both electricity and natural gas consumption released 7.65 MMtCO2e during the one-year study period. It was found that income class (p<0.001), house area (p<0.001), the size (tons) of AC (p<0.001), number of kitchens (p<0.01), building type (p<0.001) and season (p<0.001) had a significantly positive relationship with energy consumption and CO2e emissions. Conversely, roof insulation (p<0.01) had a significantly negative relationship with energy consumption and CO2e emissions. The study emphasizes the need of policy formulation to improve thermal characteristics of existing buildings and implementation of building energy codes for new housing construction. It is also recommended to raise awareness among dwellers for the adoption of energy conservation measures to reduce CO2e emissions.

Chinese Fan Palm, Livistona chinensis, was introduced as an ornamental plant towards the end of the nineteenth century in Pakistan, and since then, it has been used as a popular plant in urban landscaping. It dominates the green belt of parks, recreational gardens and road verges in Lahore, Pakistan. Recent trends in the plantation of fast-growing palm species and other exotics have replaced L. chinensis in urban landscaping. In this study, observations made on the daily routine of foraging of L. chinensis berries by two common urban birds, the red vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and the house crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), showed that their consumption of berries peaked in December and January, but the duration of foraging was shown to be longer in house crows as compared to red vented bulbuls. This period of consumption corresponds to the time when the pulp of the berries has become soft, and during this period, no other fruits are available in the urban landscape. Nutrient analysis showed that the pulp of the ripened berries is a rich source of nutrients, and these berries are providing an ideal winter food to counter the increased energetic demands experienced by urban birds during the coldest part of the year, thus helping birds avoid the risk of starvation. This dietary intake of berries by birds also provides a rationale to popularize L. chinensis as an essential component of the planting palette of the urban landscape. This research can be considered as starting point for broad public support to improving landscape planning for managing nature in cities.

The southern tip of the Thal desert in Pakistan harbors the remnants of the original tropical thorn forest, amounting to two percent, which covered the province of Punjab a hundred years ago. In the past three decades, there has been a progressive decline in woody species cover on dunes, which is directly related to the increase in population in the surrounding area. Stabilized and destabilized dunes were subjectively selected followed by quantification of cover and diversity of woody species on the top and lower slopes. Dunes closely resembling the overall cover were grouped to suggest corresponding restoration measures. The results suggest that trends of decrease in cover and diversity of woody species were evident in the upper slopes of some stabilized dunes having less than 50% cover. The destabilized dunes with less than 20% cover are highly vulnerable to erosion. A general trend observed among dunes was that with a decrease in the cover of upper slopes, there is a decrease in the cover on lower slopes. The number of destabilized dunes is increasing without effective restoration measures against the prevailing trends of disturbances. Ranking dunes on the basis of cover could help in proposing simple restoration measures as a first step towards developing an understanding of designing adaptive strategies to restore the woody cover.