KARACHI: Raising serious concern over country’s rapidly declining forest cover, speakers at a seminar held on Thursday demanded that deforestation be treated as a serious environmental crime, requiring immediate legal, administrative and civic action across Pakistan.

The country, they said, was paying a high price of its neglect towards forests as it experienced climate-induced disasters — urban flooding, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods — intensified by deforestation.

The seminar titled Pakistan’s Vanishing Forests: From 5% to 3% — What’s Next? was organised by the Central Standing Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in collaboration with civil society stakeholders.

There was a general consensus among the speakers that tree cutting in major cities, especially Karachi and Islamabad, had reached alarming levels and there was an urgent need for government action against deforestation and unchecked cutting of trees.

They also called upon environmental activists and non-profit organisations to consider approaching courts and environmental tribunals against government negligence over destruction of green cover.

“The time for symbolic observance of environmental days is over and practical enforcement mechanisms are urgently required to protect forests and trees,” said Muhammad Naeem Qureshi heading the National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH).

Pakistan’s overall forest cover, he shared, had declined from over five per cent to nearly three per cent, far below the international minimum benchmark of 25 per cent required for ecological balance.

Karachi’s green cover, he pointed out, had dropped to nearly two per cent, with an estimated more than 50,000 trees reportedly lost due to development projects.

He urged the Sindh forest department and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to take strict action against illegal tree cutting and hold responsible institutions accountable.

He also appealed to provincial and city authorities including the Sindh local government minister, the mayor of Karachi, and the commissioner Karachi to immediately halt deforestation activities.

Senior environmentalist Rafi-ul-Haq spoke of the need to develop comprehensive forest data in Pakistan, while emphasizing the need for consensus among stakeholders on the urgency of immediate intervention.

In her remarks, Dr Zainab Naeem, Fellow at Sustainable Development Policy Institute, said that Pakistan had experienced an 18 per cent decline in forest cover since 1992.

“Deforestation has intensified climate-induced disasters, including urban flooding, landslides, glacial lake outburst floods, in Pakistan, which loses over 11,000 hectares of forest annually,” she said, stressing the need for indigenous tree plantation and better inter-agency coordination.

Tariq Ali Nizamani, Managing Director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, highlighted the ongoing department initiatives being taken to convert organic waste into compost in collaboration with educational institutions and communities to promote urban gardening and plantation.

Senior journalist Shabina Faraz called for creating awareness, especially among the youth and children, on the importance of nature conservation.

She also proposed the use of artificial intelligence and satellite technology for forest monitoring, while demanding a strict ban on single-use plastic bags.

Lawyer Muhammad Hassan Qureshi, Deputy Convener of the FPCCI committee Abdul Rahman and Deputy Convener Khawaja Sheeraz Ali also spoke.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2026