Actors:

Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs)

Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI)

Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi

Respondent officials

Unofficial Actors:

Reporters

Petitioners

Private people

Forestry sciences at national and international level

Tree lovers organizations

UPPER DIR, Dec 02: Speakers at a people’s forest assembly here at Kalkot called
upon the government to formulate new forest policy in consultation with all the
stakeholders, including the forest dwelling communities, and enhance forest royalty
in Dir-Kohistan from existing 60 percent to 80 percent.

The speakers included ex-nazim Muhammad Ali of Ushary union council, a notable of
Kalkot, also named Mohammad Ali, Talimand Khan of SDPI, Jamshaid Khan and Amir
Mohammad of SAFI and other community leaders.

Issue:

He admitted that deforestation was occurring but said the forest dwellers had no
alternative source of livelihood and fuel.A notable Mohammad Ali revealed that the
recent floods washed away timber worth billion of rupees and also caused huge loss to
forests. He added that the forest dwellers of Dir-Kohistan used to burn wood worth Rs8
billion annually for cooking and heating due to non-availability of alternative source of
fuel. He demanded that the government should provide alternative fuel to the forest
dwellers and increase the royalty from 60 percent to 80 percent in Dir-Kohistan, as
already paid to Sultan Khel and Pinda Khel.

Constraints:

1. He said that it should be probed as to how private persons and some of petitioners and
their relatives got possession of forest land and whether their possession was legal. He
said that the inquiry should also determine whether forest land was granted by revenue,
barrage or forest authorities in accordance with law or not.

Petitioners said it was respondent officials’ duty to protect, conserve and improve forests
but grant of one-year lease would adversely affect environment.
Respondent officials were not eligible to grant forest land on lease and the lease of rich
forest land at throwaway price without transparent auction was illegal, they said.
The petitioners requested the court to declare grant of lease in favour of private
respondents and others as unlawful. They said that respondents should be restrained from
cutting trees or handing over forest land to anyone.

2. The library of PFI was being computerised so that students in country and even abroad
could take full advantage of it. Special focus was being made on bolstering research
activities in PFI, the minister said. He said it was unfortunate that due to lack of funds,
research sector was overlooked in the past and the present government was giving special
focus to this important sector to address common problems locally. Mr Afridi said
capacity-building of faculty and encouragement of talented students was top priorities of
the government.
Later, talking to reporters the federal minister for environment said the militancy had
badly affected forest sector in Malakand Division and also delayed implementation
process of Rs13 billion mega Carbon Sequestration Project in the country.—APP
3. some government contractors were felling trees in the forest in connivance with the
forest officials denuding the valley.

They said the hand-picked members of the joint forest management committee (JFMC)
were equally involved in the deforestation process. They feared that if the felling of trees
on commercial scale went unchecked then the floods would wash away the scenic beauty
of the Bumburate valley.

Lack of funds for timber harvestation.

4. The report points out that the ban on commercial harvesting has disrupted forest
management cycle depriving forest owners of their legitimate rights. As a result,
government’s forest management plans have become non-operational and the forest
owners have lost interest in protection and management of their forests. Out of sheer
frustration, many of them have resorted to large scale illicit cutting of forests.

Lack of technology

Constitional Constraints:
The government has formulated the national forest policy aimed to increase productivity
of forests in order to meet requirements of timber, firewood, fodder and non-wood
products besides promoting sustainable natural resources-based livelihoods.

The policy also envisages lifting the ban on timber harvesting imposed in 1993.
However, it recommended that the timber harvesting should only be resumed in well-
stocked forests covered under updated and revised management plans.

Broad Issue (Universal Issue):

……The inhabitants of Bumburate valley have demanded of the government to help stop
the ruthless cutting of trees by contractors in the Acholga forest.
…….LAST week I had the opportunity to visit various relief camps in Ghotki district. On
my way to the Ghotki city, I was really shocked to witness ruthless cutting down of the
wood from the famous littoral forest called Belo Mirpur Mathelo (Forest of Mirpur
Mathelo).
Forests were cut down but dacoits still thrive and reign over there. If things continue like
this, Sindh will soon become a province without forests.

……It also generates livelihood for many groups of people including herdsmen. Alarmed
by the leasing out of forestland and by habitat depletion in recent years, concerned locals
filed two petitions in the Sindh High Court, pleading that the forest be declared a national
heritage site.

……. Hundreds of unemployed youths are earning their livelihood by harvesting of

chalghuza pine (pine nut tree) in the local forest, says Ejaz Ahmed, the district in-charge
of non-timber products of the forest department.

Different type of actors involved before decision making

Policy alternatives:

……A tree-lovers organisation, Shajar Dost Tehreek, has expressed gratitude to the
Punjab government for taking initiative to protect the ever-shrinking forest area in the
province by introducing amendments to the 1927 Act.
“Increasing the fines for damaging trees under the new forest laws will improve the
enforcement mechanism, lessen the burden on the police as far as the investigation of the
offence is concerned and put on halt ever-shrinking areas under trees in Punjab, which is
hardly 3.1 per cent of the total area of the province,” said convener Lt-Col Ejaz Nazim
(retired) after a Tehreek meeting on Sunday.
Trees in the country were being destroyed at such an alarming pace that Pakistan now
stood at number one position in Asia and number two in the world. The ranking was
made prior to the recent floods in the country, which also destroyed trees to biblical
proportions.
“Promulgation of the new forest laws is a good step. At least, the decision-makers
realised the tree cover is the veritable skin of a country which is falling prey to greed and
ignorance,” said Nazim.
Attended by environment, ecology and forestry experts, the meeting noted with concern
that the new laws needed improvements as the same have no mention of urban forestry
that receives utmost importance in all civilised states all over the globe.
“Urban forests are laid out and maintained by qualified arborists, landscape architects and
urban foresters in collaboration with city planners and architects. The need of the hour is
that the federal and all provincial governments should revise and upgrade their forest
laws also covering urban forests.
“Five-year undergraduate courses for landscape architecture and four-year undergraduate
courses for urban forestry of international standards should be arranged all over Pakistan.
This will ultimately enable the country to utilise indigenous expertise instead of
employing experts from abroad for the development projects.
“Indiscriminate import and use of alien trees at tremendous expense must be stopped.
Only a few samples should be imported, if the same are scientifically examined so that
they do not pose any threat to our environment, ecology or native trees. Bio-diversity is
very important in urban forests but only native and naturalised trees should be used for
this purpose.
“Like most cities of the country, Lahore is very hot in summers. It needs shade which
necessitated plantation of mostly large native trees with large, spreading leafy canopies
along the roads and in urban open spaces. It will improve the urban environment and go a
long way in providing a better quality of life for the people,” said Nazim.
Land area should be increased to meet the requirements of forests.
Protection of forest lands and retrieve the Forest land from land grabbers.
Utilize the forest lands and other products
Parks should be made and the production of trees should be increased.
Make awareness among the people.
Govt officials warned against corruption: The committee while reviewing the audit paras
regarding wood theft from the forests, had ordered the authorities concerned to present
the entire record of tenders for wood selling in the next meeting.

Participatory approaches urged to protect forests

– increasing penalties and fines – passed, and amend in the Rules of Procedure regarding
pre-budget discussion, as recommended by the Standing Committee on Law and
Parliamentary Affairs.
Pol alt and actions of all politicians and other local people and interest groups:
……... The Board of Revenue (BoR) has directed the Sargodha division commissioner to
probe the illegal allotment of around 2,000-acre land of the provincial forest department
by the Bhakkar’s district officer revenue (DOR) to agriculture and forestry graduates.

…….... Taking the house into confidence, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah
announced in the Sindh assembly on Wednesday that all government lands encroached in
kachcha or pukka areas in the province would be taken back from land grabbers and
influential people who had been illegally possessing thousands of acres of government
land.

…………Indus Development Organisation (IDO) executive director Zain Daudpoto has

said that floods have provided a golden opportunity for rehabilitation of forests but
instead of evolving a strategy in this regard, the Sindh chief minister has announced that
forest land will be allotted to people on 90-year lease.
…………Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Environment Wajid Ali Khan has said the
recent torrential rains and flash floods had washed away 136,453 cubic feet of timber,
causing a loss of Rs23 million. He added the 14,815 cubic feet of timber had been
recovered.

Information based substantive tool:

Most of the times the government creates awareness among the people through
advertisements and through other sources to increase the trees and do not cut the trees.

Decision Making:
Before decision making all type of political and non political actors were involved. The
local people, interest groups and the other political actors were being involved in raising
the different issues. And trying to take the issue to the Formal Agenda. When the issue
comes at the Formal Agenda the Government look into all the possible alternatives and
then takes the final decision. And in the decision making phase, only the official actors
are involved.