In an effort to curb illegal deforestation, the government has amended the Forest Act of 1927 and has increased the fine from Rs500 to Rs100,000 and six-month imprisonment to two years against illegal cutting of trees, Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, the Punjab agriculture minister said on Wednesday.
Aulak was addressing the students and faculty at an Environmental Toxicology and Health workshop organised by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, UK, and the Higher Education Commission.
The two-day workshop aims to create awareness among the students about environmental pollutants, deforestation, degradation of natural resources, and industrial and vehicular pollution.
Aulakh explained the challenges faced by the government in dealing with environmental issues. He said there was meagre participation by the citizens and stake holders which made it more difficult for plans to work out.
He said that 10 trees were equivalent to a one-ton air conditioner and a single tree could produce around 6.5 tons of oxygen per annum.
“Trees covers across the province is 3.1 per cent of the cultivated land. There is a dire need to bring a change by adopting long term planning and chalking out strategies that can address these challenges,” he said.
Prof Muhammad Nawaz, the UVAS vice chancellor, said that Pakistan was confronted with a number of environmental problems such as degradation of natural resources, industrial and vehicular pollution, marine pollution and degradation of human health. He said that the annual cost of environmental degradation in Pakistan was about 4.3 per cent of the GDP, equivalent to $4.3 billion.
UVAS, he said, aimed to support the development of principles and practices for protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality for human health and ecosystem integrity. The university’s mission was to support and promote the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems, he added.
Prof Muhammad Ashraf, the department of pharmacology and toxicology chairman, explained the scope of Environmental Toxicology as a subject and field of research.
Later, in a technical session hosted by Dr Sohail Ijaz, a Cambridge University scholar, a presentation was made by Prof Gerry Amor Camor, the University of Eastern Philippines faculty of veterinary medicine dean, through video conferencing. The presentation titled, ‘Understanding the pathology of tissues exposed to various toxins and pollutants’ highlighted the importance of the study of toxicology.
The workshop will continue at the university’s conference hall today.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2011.
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