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LAHORE, Sep 16 (APP):The Punjab Forest department plans GIS mapping and drone surveillance to strengthen forest protection, making technology the centerpiece of its
strategy against illegal logging, timber smuggling, and deforestation.
Punjab Forest department Director General Azfar Ziya told Wealth Pakistan
that 104 command-and-control centres are being established across the province
to provide round-the-clock forest surveillance.
He said the integration of GIS and drone-based monitoring would allow real-time
tracking of forest cover, detection of timber theft, and more accurate data for enforcement.
Alongside the technology upgrade, the department has launched a dedicated Forest
Special Squad to act on violations identified through the new system. “This is a decisive
move against the timber mafia, as technology-backed monitoring will give us the capacity
to curb illegal activities far more effectively than before,” Ziya said.
The department has also introduced a public helpline (1084) to encourage citizens
reporting of timber theft and tree felling.
Ziya said community participation was being promoted so that residents living
near forest areas could directly alert the authorities and strengthen enforcement,
adding that legal reforms were also underway.
The Punjab government was preparing amendments to the Punjab Forest Act
and Transit Rules, 2024, which would introduce tougher penalties for forest crimes.
Ziya stressed that stronger laws, coupled with technology, would significantly
improve the fight against deforestation. The crackdown has extended to the
commercial side as well, he added.
He said that cutting of green trees had already been prohibited in 2014 following
directions from the Lahore High Court, only dead, dry, and wind fallen trees had
been auctioned in the past decade. Now, the department had announced an
immediate ban on all timber auctions to prevent deforestation and land degradation,
he added.
The Forest DG said that another major concern was forest fires in Punjab’s
mountainous regions, for which the department was establishing shielded summits
in Murree and Kahuta, deploying 600 fire watchers, constructing watchtowers
and water tanks, maintaining forest tracks, and equipping fire response vehicles.
Ziya told Wealth Pakistan that Punjab plans to double its forest cover within five
years, with large-scale plantations at the centre of the strategy. “During the next
two plantation campaigns alone, 51 million saplings will be planted,” he revealed.
The plantations would cover 50,869 acres, while an additional 1.37 million saplings
would be raised across 3,790 acres of forest wasteland under the agro-forestry
initiative.
He underlined that protecting and expanding forest cover was directly linked to
climate resilience. “The loss of forests reduces carbon sequestration and accelerates
climate change. This has increased the vulnerability of Pakistan to floods and landslides,
particularly in mountainous areas where forest loss destabilizes slopes and exacerbates
runoff,” he said and added that environmentalists had welcomed Punjab’s new direction.
Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General of WWF-Pakistan, told Wealth Pakistan that
the ban on timber auctions would strengthen biodiversity conservation and environmental
stability. “Punjab’s forest cover is slightly above 1 percent, compared to Pakistan’s 4 percent
overall, while the UN recommends at least 25 percent of land should be under forests.
The strict enforcement of laws and a holistic approach could help Pakistan reduce the
effects of climate change,” he added.