Bibi Dow’s plea: British Pakistani asks for Imran’s help in protecting Kalash from deforestation

Maureen Lines has been living in Chitral since the 80s.

PESHAWAR: By the time Maureen Lines was granted Pakistani citizenship in 2004, it had been two decades since she had left the comfort of North London for the lush greens of the Kalash valleys in Chitral.

Known to locals as Bibi Dow, Lines was born in England and landed in Pakistan around the 80s. “In 1979, I was planning a trip across Africa and then came across a documentary on the interesting Kalash people of Chitral,” she told The Express Tribune in an earlier interview. The documentary made such an impression that Lines travelled east and has since been working for the welfare of the Kalash valleys – both its people and its environment.

On Monday, after parts of Birir Valley flooded, Lines appealed to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to completely ban permits for logged wood from Kalash. Lines demanded immediate reforestation of the region under the Green Growth Initiative.

In a statement, issued from Birir Valley, Kalash and addressed to PTI chairman and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, the 77-year-old maintained the Kalash valleys were suffering the harsh impact of climate change thanks to unchecked tree felling.

Floods in Kalash

Locally, Lines is known for her environmental efforts. She set up the Kalash Environmental Protection Society in 1993 and Hindu Kush Conservation Association, a charity based in England, in 1995.

After 2010’s catastrophic floods in all three Kalash valleys, the summer of 2013 brought more woes to the people there, said Lines in her statement. Rumbur Valley again suffered – a school, a newly-built bridge and numerous water channels were destroyed, shared the social worker. According to Lines, the jeep track, their only lifeline, turned into a treacherous boulder-strewn path. It remained non-negotiable for months and cost the life of a road worker.

In her plea to the PTI leader, Lines explained a few nights ago, Birir – where she lives – was rudely awoken by a thundering flood. A nullah, locally known as a gol, had overrun after rainstorms.

“Twice that night, the raging thunderstorm wrought havoc in its wake. After breaking down the retaining walls, the water from the gol barely missed a school and homes, and burst into the main river, destroying fields and the forest cottage in its path,” she said. The jeep track is now destroyed in four places and inundated by the river.

Thanks to deforestation, the village of Grubinsar was flooded by both mud and water from the mountain side, her plea added.

Timber mafia

The day following the recent floods, Maureen called a meeting of the leaders of the affected Kalasha community where she acted as the facilitator. The meeting agreed tree cutting was destroying the environment and permits for tree cutting are being misused.

A complete ban was proposed on any future permits and the leaders demanded reforestation of the highest slopes with Himalayan Cedar and lower ones with Holly Oak (indigenous species).

Moreover, the names of known timber smugglers were also written down at the meeting. According to Lines, permits were being given to certain favourites to cut down mature trees, which were now nowhere to be seen. With the help of the forest department, she shared, green trees are being felled in excess.

It is said this wood is then transported out of the valleys by bribing officials at every check post.

The poor Kalasha community is being exploited by the timber mafia and they desperately need the help of the government to put strict controls on the export of wood out of the valleys and on the timber smuggling, appealed Lines. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2014.