October 6, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 28, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Oct 5: Timber prices have increased sharply in the local market after the Afghan transitional government imposed restrictions on its transportation to Pakistan to meet its domestic needs, timber merchants said on Friday.

They say the authorities in Kabul have taken the step on the directives of some donor countries, which has significantly raised the timber prices.

Information gathered by Dawn revealed that Rs 300 to Rs 400 increase was registered in the per square foot price of Deodar and Blue pine-wood, owing to the shortfall in timber supply from Afghanistan.

Peshawar-based Afghan Trade Commissioner, Haji Aman Khairi, said Kabul had adopted some measures in an attempt to meet its domestic needs and to protect the depleting forest resources of the war-ravaged country. Owing to ruthless deforestation, the forests in Afghanistan have lost its capacity, the commissioner stated.

Save Environment Afghanistan (SEA), an Afghan NGO, in one of its reports reveals that the forest covered area in the country was about 3.4 per cent in 1983, while the area has fell to 2.6 per cent in 1989. Now some countries have also donated timber to Afghanistan  to save its devastated forests  from  further depletion.

Peshawar, Quetta and other border towns have emerged major markets for Afghan timber since Islamabad placed complete ban on forest cutting in 1993. Millions of cubic feet timber had been transported from Afghanistan via Chaman (Balochistan), Dir, Chitral and the adjacent tribal areas.

President Sarhad, Fata Timber Dealers Federation, Dr Khan Mahsood here in Peshawar told Dawn that the prices of Deodar wood had jumped from Rs 500 to Rs 900 (per square foot) in Peshawar, while the same quality timber prices ranged between Rs 700 to 1,100 in Rawalpindi and Lahore.

He said at present timber was imported from Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia and Nooristan provinces (Afghanistan) via Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram and Mohmand Agencies, which could not accomplish domestic requirements.

On the request of tribal elders, the NWFP government has fixed the quota for four tribal agencies — Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram and Mohmand — in 2001, under which every month each agency can import about 40 trucks of timber from Afghanistan.

Officials at Jamrud Road Forest checkpost confirmed that currently every month only five to seven trucks loaded with timber passed through this checkpoint, coming to Peshawar via Torkham.

Officials of the provincial environment department said the timber supply from Afghanistan was not enough which could put pressure on poor forests resources of NWFP, Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir.

The NWFP total forest covered area is 17 per cent — mapped area is 4,000,000 acres and 800,000 acres of form land. The provincial government is designing “NWFP Vision 2025” programme to enhance the forest ratio up to 25 per cent during the next two decades. The donor agencies’ report said the existing forest reserves of the province were likely to be vanished by 2025 due to its over-exploitation.