Analyzing Imran Khan’s Billion Tree Tsunami Initiative from Ecolinguistic Perspective: Assessing its Environmental Implications for Pakistan

Pakistan distinguished as a nation with high vulnerability due to the severe inadequacies of climate change. To mitigate climate change effects the “Billion Tree Tsunami Initiative” was the first attempt launched by Imran Khan in 2014. The campaign discussed and got media attention because of allegations of negligence, corruption and using the campaign for political causes by PTI. This research paper presents an interdisciplinary approach, mingling eco-linguistic discourse analysis with quantitative and qualitative analysis, to offer an inclusive assessment of the initiative's inferences for Pakistan's environment. Through eco- linguistic discourse analysis, the paper reveals the visionary rhetoric implanted in Imran Khan's speeches as well as official documents. It clarifies the initiative's promise to sustainable reforestation rehearses, exceeding mere rhetoric to represent a deep indulgent of the interaction between environmental health as well as long-term economic constancy. The use of eco-centric language strengthens a common moral duty to defend the environment, nurturing a lasting association between the citizens as well as their natural environments. A mix- method approach was applied for this study. For qualitative analysis Imran khan’s 20 speeches were selected randomly from 2014-2022 from different cities of Pakistan, official documents related to “Imran khan’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami” and media coverage from 2014-2022. A simple random sampling was used for this study. The qualitative data was analyzed by NVivo software. The framing strategies, linguistic features, and metaphors were analyzed from Imran khan’s speeches, official documents, and media coverage. This phase compromises perceptions of the progress of the initiative’s Ecolinguistic discourse over the years. The quantitative data was analyzed by SPSS software (version 24) and Python’s Natural Language Toolkit. Key metrics and sentimental analysis of media coverage were done for the quantitative analysis of “Imran Khan’s 10 Billion Tree initiative”. The quantitative analysis comprises budget utilization, employment impact, public sentiments, and tree survival rates. The SPSS software provides the descriptive statistics of tree survival rates, and the % ages of employment rates, while Python’s Natural Language Toolkit (PNLT) presents the sentimental analysis of media coverage related to the 10 Billion tree initiative launched by Imran Khan. The data has been presented in tables and pie charts. This study will be beneficial for policymakers, activists and NGOs, international researchers, educators, media professionals, media coverage, and fostering global collaboration in ecological restoration efforts.