BANNING the sale of timber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the most laudable steps taken by the PTI government.

Pakistan’s rate of deforestation has been rated by various environmental bodies as being amongst the highest in the world, and already the country looks set to miss the MDG goal of 6pc forest cover by 2015.

According to official numbers, forests constitute 5.2pc of the land area of Pakistan, although some dispute that figure, arguing it is in fact much lower.

Know more: PTI declares war against timber smugglers in KP

Even by official figures, if Pakistan were to meet its MDG target for forest cover, it would need to create forests on an area six times the size of the city of Lahore in the next 10 months. Clearly, the scale of our deforestation problem is massive.

One consequence of the ban on the sale of timber in KP has been the smoking out of those elements who are connected with the timber mafia.

One legislator belonging to the Qaumi Watan Party has spoken out angrily against the ban, arguing that sale of timber is an important source of revenue for the provincial government, and provides jobs for “thousands” of people.

This reasoning is absurd. Forests play a crucial role in our ecology. They are the lungs of the atmosphere, help renew arable land, inhibit landslides and provide an ecosystem that sustains life and biodiversity on a huge scale.

The ban on timber sales should be replicated in other provinces, particularly Sindh where the depletion of mangrove forests accounts for the largest share of total deforestation taking place in the country.

Furthermore, the ban should be extended to cover the allocation of forest lands for non-forest uses, such as housing colonies, an issue in which Punjab tops the list. Elements such as the QWP legislator deserve to be ignored in the process.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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