Dwindling forests

[uzma khan youzaf zai]

Dwindling forests

By Dr S. M. Alam



FORESTS are an integral part of nature and if nature is destroyed, life is destroyed. Forests and woodlands cover 30 per cent of the world’s land area. They produce wood from trees, and also nonwood products such as honey, cork, fruits, mushrooms, essential oils and medicines. They take up carbon and can help slow the rate of climate change. They protect soils and water, and provide habitats to wildlife.
Forests are valuable assets for the nation and are the basic natural resources. They provide timber, firewood, forage and help in conservation of soil fertility and thus enhance its productivity. They play a vital role in reducing pollution, providing clean air and controlling soil erosion. They also sustain the country’s wildlife and provide recreational facilities.

Forests play a crucial role in the protection of environmental providing oxygen to the air we breathe, and influence in general the climatic phenomenon. Much of the firewood of domestic use is collected from forests. By encroaching on these lands and bringing them under cultivation, we are destroying natural resource systems.

Flora and fauna are essential elements providing material bases for food, clothing and fuel. Population expansion, development in agriculture and industry and meeting other essential human needs have caused damage and destruction to wildlife habitats such as forests, range-lands and wetlands.

With the advent of agriculture, forest became the prime tool to clear land for crops. Cities are built in woody areas providing the wood for some industry. Above all the massive use of wood in paper making has led to a new onslaught on forest. According to a recent UN report, paper production is responsible for 50 per cent of the total wood harvested worldwide.

Forests in the country, as often claimed by the government and quoted by researchers, are spread over two million hectares, equal to 4.8 per cent of the total land area. If we compare our forest areas with other developing and developed countries, the situation is grim. Pakistan has stands at 140th rank as regards forest area in the world. According to an estimate, forest area of the country decreased from 141,530 sq. km. in 1880 to 67, 310 sq .km in 1980 (a decrease of 52 per cent in 100 years). The country loses some 7,0009,000 hectares of forest areas each year. It has been reported that between 1990 and 1995, Pakistan experienced deforestation at the rate of 1.1 per cent annually.

The country has only 0.03 ha of forest per capita, while corresponding figures for the developed and the developing countries are 1.07 and 0.5 hectares respectively. Reasons for such situation are both natural and manmade. About 75 per cent area falls under the arid and semi-arid zone and availability of water for growth of plants is a big constraint. Due to shortage of good quality trees and sufficient timbers, Pakistan has to import a large quantity of wood products from foreign countries.

Compared with other provinces, forests are mostly located in NWFP and the Northern Areas which constitute 40 per cent and 15.7 per cent and AJK 6.7 per cent of the country’s total forest resources respectively. Most are natural and occur at high elevation in fragile mountains in the north. Country’s best forests grow in NWFP. Forestry employs abut 70,000 people in the province.

Firewood is the main source of domestic energy supplemented by animal wastes and crop residues. About 90 per cent of the rural population uses these traditional fuels. The existing forests supply less than one-fifth of the timber and one-fourth of the firewood needs of the country. The majority of the production comes from scattered trees grown on farms and range-lands. It is estimated that farm forests supply more than onehalf of the timber and three-fourths of the firewood demand of the nation. The remaining demand is met through imports. Rangeland forests and cultivated areas have come under substantial pressure in recent years from large increases in human and livestock populations.

A forestry policy aims at providing the greatest benefit to the society as a whole. In formulating a sound policy, a wide range of physical, institutional, socio-economic and technological factors need to be considered. Economic growth, employment and income generation in the rural areas are a must for the overall development of the country, as is improvement of productivity in agriculture and forestry. Because of poverty and poor education, the population is generally apathetic towards the destruction of forests.

Modern technology is required in forest management, development of the communication system, forest soils study and survey, low-impact logging, extraction and transportation can only be achieved by new methods, while modern facilities and sufficient funding need to be provided for education and training of forest departments, public and private sector employees. Depletion of forests and watersheds adversely affects flora and fauna, biodiversity and genetic resources. Illegal logging, watercourse diversion, land clearance and poaching of wildlife must all be stopped.