TIMBER gangs operate freely in several parts of the country, profiting from illicit logging often with the backing of local officials. This poses a stiff challenge to the authorities meant to stop deforestation.

Some 43,000 hectares of forest cease to exist annually in Pakistan, which has the highest deforestation rate in Asia, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

All provinces have their own forest laws intended to regulate forest conservation and timber harvesting according to local needs. But these are routinely ignored, often in connivance with politicians in the rural areas, some of whom encourage their constituents to clean up forests, auction the wood, and turn the land into profitable plots for farming or construction.

The local timber mafia sells logs to the traders for around Rs30 per cubic foot in Chilas. The logs are then resold for Rs3,000 per cubic foot in the open market.

Forest experts argue that powerful timber gangs are a major obstacle to forest protection plans in the South Asian nation. It is disappointing that the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) proposal submitted by the Climate Change Division did not mention how the government would deal with the timber mafia, which is a grave threat to the country’s forests.

The hope is that local people will become motivated to monitor and report illicit logging once efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programmes are in place and communities understand the financial advantages they will attain from the carbon credits generated by their own forest protection efforts.

To that end, the government should focus on building the capacity of indigenous groups to manage forests, as well as providing them with alternative fuel sources and ways of making a living that do not involve cutting down trees.

Deedar Ali Bangwar
Kandhkot

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2022