‘Govt should protect forests before land grabbers return’

600,000 acres of Sindh’s forestland is likely to be taken over again as soon as floodwater recedes.

KARACHI: About 600,000 acres of Sindh’s forestland that was illegally occupied is likely to be taken over again as soon as the floodwater recedes and the people go back, warned an environmental lawyer.

The government can, however, step in to prevent this from happening. “This provides the government an opportunity to declare these areas protected zones and to pass an immediate order for GIS-mapping and aerial-seeding for reforestation,” said Qazi Ali Athar, an environmental lawyer, in an interview with The Express Tribune. “Aerial-seeding was successfully carried out at Margalla Hills around Islamabad in the past,” he added as an example.

At a time when people all over the world are working to safeguard the planet’s irreplaceable natural wealth and celebrating the ongoing year as the “International Year of Biodiversity”, the Sindh government is trying to convert forests into revenue lands so that they could be handed over to influential people and potential investors.

“We have a very different situation in our country. Accords and treaties are being signed all over the world to conserve nature, but here, whatever forest resources we have, are being destroyed by the government itself.”

As per the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a quarter of every country’s territory should be under forest cover, and all signatories of the MDGs have pledged that they will protect and try to increase their forestlands till 2015.

“We only have around 4.42 per cent forest cover in our country and the government had vowed to enhance it to seven per cent, but unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be happening.”

The unprecedented devastation caused by the recent floods could have been averted to some extent if the trees on the banks of rivers and canals had not been cut down, but unfortunately, there haven’t been enough steps taken to prevent deforestation, particularly in riverine forests.

“We are deeply concerned about the hazardous effects of deforestation in the riverine forests of Khebrani, Raees Mureed, Miani, Matiari, Khanpota, Shah Bukhari, Khipro, Pai, Nawab Muhammad Khan, Kathri, Gundi, Mukhi, Aandal Dal, Madaiji and other forests in Hyderabad, Matiari, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Shikarpur and other districts of the province.”

Athar said that the provinces follow the 1927 Federal Forest Act, under which no provincial government could touch the forest at any cost. However, the Sindh Agro Forest Policy was passed in 2004 that allowed 40-acre plots to be given on a 10-year lease to individuals.

Twenty-five per cent of each plot was to be used for reforestation and the rest for agriculture. The government gave away thousands of acres of land to influential people under this policy, but the reforestation never took place and instead trees were cut down.

“Following the directives of the president, the Sindh chief minister recently moved a summary for the conversion of about 800,000 acres of forests into revenue land, a move aimed at appeasing friends and supporters at the cost of valuable forestland,” said Athar, who has filed a petition against the government’s deforestation plan.

“The president had directed the chief minister to constitute committees of MPAs in different areas to conduct surveys of the lands before they could be given to deserving people, especially women, but the province’s chief executive ordered a preparation of the summary without forming the committees or surveying any land,” he said.

“The Indus eco-region ranks 40 among the top 200 riverine forests in the world because of the River Indus’ natural course and the biodiversity found in it. But the policies of the government are devastating the forest with each passing day.”

The Kebrani forest in Matiari district alone is spread over 3,000 acres with precious species of plants, animals and birds. The forest provides wood for the villagers and also fodder for their 50,000 cattle.

The forest department had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indus Development Organisation (IDO) for the conservation and reforestation of the Kebrani and Raees Mured forests.

Besides this, an agreement was also signed for a project to impose a cattle-grazing tax aimed at generating revenue and sensitising villagers about the forest.

“If these forests are converted into revenue land, all these efforts and investment will be ruined and villagers, who depend on wood and fodder from the forests, will suffer.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2010.