By Adeel Saeed
PESHAWAR, Jun 18 (APP): Where climate change issue is affecting the whole world, its impacts in Pakistan are also increasing by each passing year as according to a study Pakistan is among the list of countries vulnerable to climate change if timely measures are not taken.
As many other measures are necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change, the most important one is to grow more trees besides controlling deforestation.
No doubt, there are many other challenges being faced by the country but this issue requires special attention of the current governments, both central and provincial.
Keeping in view the gravity of the issue, the Khyber Pakthunkhwa government has taken numerous measures for sustainable growth and preservation of forest resources of the province by ensuring careful utilization and protection of forest lands.
“Considering forests a rich potential of the province, the government is giving due consideration to its protection and sustainable growth through different measures including setting up of enclosures, protection from fire, prohibition in cutting of trees and safety from livestock grazing,” informed Ibrahim Khan, Senior Officer of the KP Forest Department.
Taking to APP, Ibrahim Khan said all the departments concerned had been taken on board for preempting fire incidents in forests due to heatwave during summer season.
The department had constituted teams in all the forest areas for round the clock monitoring, while a new system of fire line technology had been introduced for developing distance among trees by removal of weeds and bushes which usually catch fire and spread the blaze instantly, he mentioned.
Ibrahim said awareness material in shape of printed pamphlets was also distributed among people living in forests and in its vicinity to educate them about response in case of fire. The same material was also shared with tourists visiting scenic sites with a request to avoid fire lit in forests.
The provincial government, he added, also enacted Forest Amendment Bill 2022 for protection of forests, in which, penalties in shape of imprisonment and fines had been enhanced for those found involved in destruction of government controlled forests.
In the law, rules were introduced to increase sentence of two years imprisonment to three years and fine from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 500,000 for the violators. The law also enabled Divisional Forest Officers serving in newly merged districts to punish those found involve in degradation of forest.
According to the law, the government would also take necessary measures for protection of forest carbon rights, besides having the right to declare any forest or nearby area as national park.
The ongoing Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Project was initiated in 2019 with a total cost of Rs125.184bn for four years to plant and regenerate 3.296bn trees in the country, Ibrahim said, adding under the project, 650.14 million trees were planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while 146.2 million trees in merged districts.
During the plantation drive, focus was also given on growing Miyawaki forest by planting 207661 trees on 280 kanals of land.
He said majority of trees planted in Miyawaki forests were Chir, Eucalyptus, Amlook, Phulai, Anar dana, Bottle Brush, Shisham, Wild anar, Kachnar, Poplar and Willow. These plants had survival rates between 70 to 90 percent.
“In order to expand forest cover, the first ever experiment of throwing seed balls in unattended reserve forests of KP was also made which showed encouraging results as above 60 percent germination was recorded in a fortnight period,” informs Tariq Shah, Deputy Conservator Forest Department KP.
Talking to APP, Tariq Shah apprised that the seed balls were thrown in reserved forests of Khanpur area at Haripur district in early September and results were very positive and encouraging.
The forest department had distributed around 500,000 seed balls in unattended hilly forests of Haripur out of which majority of seeds had germinated and grown into plants and finally trees, Tariq added.
He said this was for the first time seed balls experiment was undertaken by the forest department and the exercise would be replicated in other areas after assessment of results.
The balls distributed in Haripur were of multi purpose containing seeds of different plant species including Acacia, dodonaea, sheesham, cheer pine, polai, grasses etc, he added.
“KP has the potential of 11.20 million tonnes of annual carbon sequestration and avoiding of one hectre deforestation in the province means emission reduction of 367 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” said Latif ur Rehman, Spokesman of KP Environment, Forestry and Wildlife Department.
KP conducted forest carbon stock assessment in all forest regions and also developed carbon tables for 15 major tree species, Latif told APP.
He said for protection of this natural resource, the department had established satellite land monitoring system in collaboration with SUPARCO for continuous monitoring of forest cover changes.
“In Khyber Pakthunkhwa, illegal saw machines were banned to protect the green gold,” said Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Deputy Project Director, 10 billion trees afforestration project while talking to APP.
Ibrahim said the provincial climate change policy 2016, range land policy, and REDD plus strategy have been implemented in the province.
He underscored the need for early operationalization of the COP 29 UN fund to help climate change’s vulnerable countries including Pakistan.
