HYDERABAD, Aug 12: The residents of riverine area (katcha) and leaders of NGOs have demanded that the lease system should be abolished and the forest lands should be given to the people of the katcha areas and social welfare organisations to rehabilitate the forests.

They further said that the riverine areas of Sindh were the identity of the province and the main source of livelihood for the people of katcha areas and sought clearance of forests land from the illegal occupants.

Speaking at a conference organised by the Joint Action Committee of Sindh at the Khebrani forest, Matiari, on the subject of “socio-economic impact of flood on the riverine area” on Monday, they said that agro-forestry policy was the root cause of destruction of the forests which should be abolished and demanded introduction of community forestry system.

Speaking on the occasion, the coordinator of the committee, Zain Daudpoto, water expert, Nazeer Memon, Fateh Mari and Adam Malik of Actionaid, Punhal Sario of the Sindh Hari Council, Ms Aqeela Naz of “Anjuman Mazaireen Punjab”, Malik Akbar of “Jaag Movement Punjab” and others, said that the flood in the katcha area was a guarantee for the poor people of the riverine areas.

They said that forests were the only source of livelihood of the livestock owners of the riverine areas. They said these people have been greatly affected in the absence of floods during the last 15 years.

The leaders of the civil society said that due to the destruction of forests, only a few thousands of acres of forestry was left out of 5.1 million acres mainly in Khebrani and Rais Mureed forests. They said that these forests had been saved simply because of the efforts of the forest protection committees constituted by the Indus Development Organisation.

They claimed that if this forest was also destroyed, then the people of Hyderabad will have no milk. It is, therefore, the duty of the rural and urban population to protect their forests, they said.

The worse enemy of forests, they said, is the political wadera of Sindh who manages to get a lease of 40 acres of forest land due to his political influence which gives him a license to occupy 1,000 acres.

It is, therefore, essential to abolish the agro-forestry policy, the speakers said and added that on the pattern of other South Asian countries, community forestry system should be introduced.