A Pai Forest map.

THE Pai Forest in Sindh, rich in flora and fauna with diverse wildlife, is under threat from land grabbers and shortage of water. Ironically, it is a protected area and part of the Indus ecoregion that has been identified as one of 40 biologically richest ecoregions in the world.

These were the findings of a delegation of the Forum of Environment Journalist Pakistan (FEJP) during an environment study tour to the Pai Forest in the heart of Sindh (located five kilometres away from Sakrand Town). The World Wide Funds for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) collaborated with the FEJP on the excursion.

A WWF-P official at its Sakrand site office told the delegation that the forest, spread over 1,933 hectare, was under pressure from influential land grabbers. He said a recent survey revealed that around 250 acres of the forest had been encroached upon by influential people of the area, including the army, for cultivation purposes.

'Moreover, the Sindh government has given 150 acres to the army and 140 acres to the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, which violates the spirit of 'protected area'. The Pai Forest is an island surrounded by arable land, thus its land has become prime target for the surrounding farmers,' he added.

There are 23 villages around the forest, having a population of around 30,000 that adds extra pressure of the forest by grabbing land for cultivating cash crops, since their traditional livelihood on livestock does not pay well in comparison to cash crops. Also, cutting of forest for fuel-wood by the local communities has significantly contributed to the destruction of the forest ecosystem.

Water is another issue that confronts the forest. It was once known as riverine forest, but after the construction of flood protection spur (bundh) on the Indus it has now turned into an irrigated forest ecosystem. It has been cut off from the riverine areas and became inland forest and, thus, this inland forest is situated outside the river embankments. Hence, its reliance on regular inundation from the Indus has been shifted to control supply of water from the Rohri Canal.

The WWF-P official said 30 cusecs of water was needed per month for maintaining the Pai Forest. 'Although it has been sanctioned by the Sindh government, the forest never receives its full share. In fact, the forest receives one-fourth of 30 cusecs which is only sufficient for 25 per cent of the forest. Since the forest lies in the tail end of the canal, a major chunk of water allocated for the forest is siphoned off by landlords and small farmers, leaving the forest with hardly any water. The overall water shortage in Sindh is another factor that encourages farmers to steal forest's water,' he said.

The agony of water-starved forest is exacerbated by plantation of eucalyptus trees which are highly water consumption plants. It is indeed an irony on the part of the Sindh Forest Department to plant such trees in a forest where water is scarce. Its number is huge but according to the WWF-P official, it has been planted to show quick progress of the forest since eucalyptus trees grow fast.

The seriousness of the Sindh government towards one of the important ecoregions of the world can be gauged from the fact that not one employee of the forest department was seen at the site. There are ruins of a forest department's staff colony that shows that in distant past there used to be the department staff in the forest.

Abandoned rusty tube-wells, partly used for irrigating the forest, is a common sight and reflects commitment of the Sindh government toward conserving important ecosystem of the region.

Owing to its ecological importance, this plantation has been declared a protected area (Game Reserve) by the Sindh Wildlife Department for conservation and sustainable management of wildlife and its habitat because it provides abode to different wildlife species. Important wildlife of the area includes hog deer, partridges, Asiatic jackals, jungle cat, porcupine, wild boar, snakes, etc.

According to the WWF-P official, to protect indigenous wildlife population, hunting was permitted through licences but the limit rarely adhered to and indiscriminate hunting was common. This posed threat to the population of hog deer and partridges. Hence, for the last over two years no licence has been issued for hunting.

To lessen the pressure on the forest from the local communities, the WWF-P introduced community based organisations and at present 14 CBOs are working in villages adjacent to the forest, which are funded by the Dutch government. The purpose is to create awareness on the importance of the forest ecosystem and provide alternate means of income and source of energy. The CBOs are providing vocational training courses for women and running bio-gas plants.

It may be mentioned that the Pai Forest is part of Indus ecoregion, which has been identified as one of the 40 biologically richest ecoregions in the world by Global 200 Analysis. The G200 ecoregions is a global initiative undertaken by the WWF internationally, together with organisations such as the UNEP, the Birdlife International and the National Geographic Society to identify and reflect the ecological significance and representation of earth's biodiversity.

The WWF-Pakistan has helped develop a 50-year vision for the Indus ecoregion, in consultation with relevant stakeholders with the aim of establishing a joint action programme. Indus for All Programme is the first five-year phase of the overall Indus Eco-region Conservation Programme developed by the WWF-P in close collaboration with the Sindh government's Planning and Development Department and other stakeholders.

The programme has obtained generous financial support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pakistan. The implementation phase of the programme was initiated in April 2007.