Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project: Insights from Hazara Region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

An innovative project called the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project (BTTAP) was started in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with the goals of improving carbon sequestration, restoring damaged ecosystems, and offering financial and environmental advantages. With an emphasis on the Hazara region, this report critically evaluates the project's environmental effect, economic viability, and benefit to local life. The cost-benefit analysis of the study indicates that BTTAP has an internal rate of return (IRR) of 6% and a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.7, which means that investors will get back 70% of their money. Despite the project's successful eight-year cost recovery, issues including fire hazards, inadequate post-project monitoring, and lost chances to plant fruit-bearing plants on shared lands continue to exist. The findings emphasize afforestation's transformational potential for ecological restoration and economic viability, as well as the importance of governmental interventions to improve community involvement and project sustainability