Go green: Business community urged to invest in forests

ISLAMABAD: The business community can reap lucrative returns by investing in the forestry sector in Punjab.

This was stated by Tahir Rasheed, the chief executive officer of South Punjab Forest Company (SPFC) while addressing a seminar on “Investment Opportunities in Forestry Sector in South Punjab” at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

Rasheed said that as per Food and Agriculture Organisation 2015, report just 1.9 per cent of the total area of Pakistan was covered with forests while the country was witnessing an average deforestation rate of 2.1 per cent between 1990 and 2015. He said if this rate of deforestation continues for next 50 years, Pakistan would lose all of its forests.

But with demand for wood products increasing, forestry sector offered attractive investment opportunities with high returns and low risk.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2016.