BALOCHISTAN covers 43pc land mass of Pakistan and its enormously rich mineral resources, plus a long coastal belt. The province has 1.7pc of the country’s total forest cover.

Most of the forests consist of juniper trees. Ziarat has 247,000 acres of juniper trees. This is the second largest juniper forest in the world.

The slow-growth trees are estimated to be 4,000 to 5,000-years-old. Juniper grows in less humid areas located at an elevation of 7000-8000 feet above the sea level, having an average annual rainfall of 200 -400mm.

Even Ziarat’s dry, cold climate may be favourable for growing juniper trees. However, in the absence of gas supply to the local people, they use branches of juniper trees as firewood. This has led to the shrinking of the forest cover in the province.

The forests may soon disappear because of the lack of government conservation efforts and the cutting down of trees by villagers for use as firewood.

Ateeq Shay Gulab

Ziarat

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2016