Act against the timber mafia

Letter April 23, 2014
Major cause of the rapidly declining rate of forest cover is the unchecked illegal activities of the timber mafia.

LAHORE: This is with reference to a letter by Arshad Ali, “Deforestation: a key ecological issue” (April 19). The writer has highlighted some of the causes of rapid deforestation and has suggested ways and means for reforestation. His concern and suggestions carry a lot of weight — one important aspect which is the major cause of the rapidly declining rate of forest cover is the unchecked illegal activities of the timber mafia operating in our country, under the patronage of influential people, while a rise in the use of wood fired boilers has only served to encourage the timber mafia.

The use of wood fired boilers is criminal and the immediate attention of the authorities concerned is the need of the hour, but it seems that our government will wake up only after our forests have been completely destroyed. The total forest cover in Pakistan is hardly less than three per cent. It is no secret that the forests in Pakistan are declining at an alarming rate of three per cent per annum because of many factors — one of them being the unnecessary use of wood for fuel and this recent trend of using wood in boiler furnaces will drastically increase the declining rate of forest cover in the country.

The commonly used wood for fuel comes from trees such as the acacia (known as ‘kikar’), talli, eucalyptus, safeda and many more. These trees take several years to attain full height and mere seconds to burn causing an irreparable loss of badly needed forests. They also affect the environment due to harmful gases released through combustion.

Laws definitely exist in our country for the preservation of forests but the timber mafia still carries out its dirty business with impunity. There are alternative sources of energy available in abundance like coal, which, if used in place of wood, will yield better results and also help save money.

I request the government to prohibit the use of wood in furnaces and punish and fine those found not following the law of the land. Furthermore, the government must confiscate all equipment and take appropriate steps to forcefully stop manufacturing of wood fired boilers.

Aamir Aqil

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2014.

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