PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Government decided to broaden the role and scope of Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI) by giving it the status of a separate department in order to promote forestry, range-management, bio-diversity wildlife education and training facilities to students.
The country’s primary forest institute, which has students from across the country as well as Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, is still under the administrative control of the Environment Department.
It was decided at the meeting that the status of PFI be developed as a separate department, under the administration of the Environment Department.
The overall affairs and problems of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Environment, Wildlife and Fisheries departments were discussed at the meeting which was by K-P Environment Minister, Environment Additional Secretary and Implementation Committee on 18th Amendment Member.
After a thorough review of the National Environment Council, the federal government has been requested to include one member from every province in the council to combat the challenges of climate change, global warming and desertification.
A proposal for the establishment of a research and survey branch in the Environment Department on the pattern of the Geological Survey of Pakistan was also presented at the meeting.
Even though 95 per cent of PFI employees belong to other provinces, they have been provided with all services and job protection by the K-P Government.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2011.
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The current forestry education is as useless as its offering institution - Pakistan Forest Institute. This white elephant is producing generalists, who have no idea about the changing environmental issues. The outcome of such education is to produce thieves, who are interested in harvesting of forests. The result is obvious that Pakistan has second highest deforestation rate in the world. Moreover, this is the outcome of our poor governance coupled with useless forestry education that our forested areas are denuded, and now we are facing the consequences in the form of flash floods, silted dams and devastating damages due to slight earthquake. Its time to change the things, before we don't live to cry. Wake up!!!