Planting billions of saplings can do little to reverse the damage done by removing century old trees Last month, we celebrated International Forest Day to raise awareness about the importance of woodlands. Against the widespread campaign to increase forest conservation, Pakistan’s forest cover, however, still stands at a mere 1.9 percent. The country has experienced ‘landmark’ deforestation over the last three decades because of the prevalence of timber and housing mafia working in connivance with political leaders and law enforcers. With the protectors of these valuable resources siding with nature’s enemies, who can be expected to monitor the ongoing deforestation? Amid such circumstances, Green Tsunami, envisioned by an environmentalist and politician, Malik Amin Aslam, is a much-needed policy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It aims to plant one billion saplings on barren lands across the province. An excellent initiative, indeed. However, it should also have considered the continuous deforestation. Planting billions of saplings can do little to undo the damage caused by the removal of centuries-old trees. Is it not merely an eyewash to cover the misdeeds, resulting in rapid deforestation at the highlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? The rulers and bureaucrats need to be made aware of their responsibilities towards these natural resources. They should realise the adverse impacts of the housing mafia bent upon expanding their societies through encroachments on governmental lands and green belts. Why is the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government still blind to this indiscriminate cutting of trees in Abbottabad, Kaghan, Naran, Astore, Kohistan and Chitral valley? Further, why is the local media still silent? Why are the civil society and environmental activists hesitant to protest against the mafias? The recently introduced Prime Minister’s Green Pakistan Programme by the federal government is another positive development. The federal government is expected to pay off the provinces approximately Rs. 4 billion for the plantation of one billion saplings in five years and training the provincial wildlife department. These programmes do not come under the scope of the federal government after the 18th Amendment in the Constitution. This intervention would perhaps provide some space to the cornered Forest wing of the Climate Change ministry, which does not do much for forestry interventions, wildlife and environmental conservation at present. The prime minister’s initiative appears to be a ‘life-saving drug’ for those missing the lucrative perks of inspecting the forests degradation. Some even believe this campaign to be an encroachment upon the provincial subjects while others are criticising it as a sheer wastage of resources since the federal and provincial governments have already failed to protect forests. Saplings could also have been planted by the district management and city governments using provincial funds and volunteers from the civic society. Thus, the prime minister should have addressed deforestation by developing a special task force and empowering the local forestry departments to combat mafias. Since the federal government has already handed over the security provision to the armed forces, they could also have been engaged for this purpose. At present, forest guards are protecting these resources with sticks and whistles with many of them even killed in the line of duty. Nevertheless, another federal government project, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest. Degradation (REDD+) in Pakistan, comes as a much-needed silver lining. Said to be working with ‘a grant of US $3.8 million from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility,” the programme would aim to build the capacity of federal and provincial forest departments to meet the international criteria. This would help the government develop a mechanism to offer incentives to forest owners for not chopping trees. South Punjab Forest Company, a Punjab government initiative, aims to reduce dependence on natural forests for fuel wood and other purposes over 134,995 acres across districts, which include Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalnagar. The company will lease forest land for 15 years — which could be further extended to another 15 years — to raise plantations to fulfil the needs of the wood-based industry. The project would also help generate green jobs, reduce import bills and reduce the logging pressure on forests. It is quite fortunate that Pakistan is now stepping forward to combat the challenges of climate change with green policies and initiatives. The recently-passed National Climate Act would establish the National Climate Change Council and Climate Change Authority under the chairmanship of the prime minister. Such a body would help fill the absence of implementation mechanisms that currently obstruct the passage of green legislation. Given the zero implementation of National Climate Change Policy, passed in 2011, can we even expect the National Climate Act to work any wonders this time? If the new climate legislation wishes to actually mitigate the carbon footprint and emphasise upon reducing deforestation, it needs a strong mechanism to deal with timber and town mafias? The writer is an Islamabad-based public policy and outreach expert. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com. He tweets @EmmayeSyed