Daily Times

When God created Earth, He gifted it with numerous treasures necessary for the comfortable existence of mankind such as rivers, oceans, mountains, forests and countless natural benevolences. These were not only necessary for the very existence of human beings but added to the beauty of the planet. One of the major gifts of God is forests. Had there been no forests, there would have been no life on Earth. What an irony that the human race, without any remorse or a second thought, is busy destroying one of the greatest gifts of God. The civilised world understands the importance, necessity and exigency of this significant and momentous favour and largess of the Creator, the only One who has created everything without any imperfection, deficiency or shortcoming.

It’s painful; very painful; extremely hurting to say that unfortunately, Pakistan is one such country where the total forest area has touched an alarmingly low level; lower than many third-world countries. Pakistan has been gifted with four seasons and climatic conditions ideal for the growth and development of numerous types of trees.

The initiative taken by the government of Tehreek-e-Insaf for planting trees is the right decision in the right direction and the need of the hour. With every rising sun, one of the important gifts of nature, forests are shrinking in our country. In spite of a daily decline in forests reserves, our rulers and the big industrial groups have never thought of considering the dangerous, hazardous and devastating effects of destroying the forests. The timber mafia’s heinous and monstrous crime of playing with the destiny of our future generations has been left unchecked and no concrete steps have ever been taken by the subsequent governments to address the declining rate of forests in the country. It seems that the timber mafia has the support and are being patronised by influential people within the ruling class.

Our successive governments were more interested in supporting the industries of the country by establishing industrial zones, where incentives were offered without considering the environmental aspects. Mostly, such industrial zones were established in some of the most fertile and cultivated areas of the country.

With patriotic and sensible planning, the same industrial units could have been established in the barren lands of Balochistan and Sindh

As a result, hazardous emissions from those industrial units played havoc with our forests and crops. If we go from Lahore to Faisalabad, we find big and small industrial units on both sides of the road. Unfortunately, there can be found no conception or provision of environmental safety or even the adverse effects of industrial waste and emissions on the surrounding crops and trees.

With patriotic and sensible planning as well as awareness of environmental aspects, the same industrial units could have been established in the barren lands of Balochistan and Sindh. Before the independence of Pakistan, West Punjab was producing food grains, which were sufficient for the whole of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, whereas nowadays, we often face a situation when Pakistan is compelled to import wheat, rice and even vegetables from neighbouring countries. Same is the case with the road network passing through the areas famous all over the world for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. This reduces a vast area where useful fruits could have been cultivated and, thus, included in the overall forest area.

The first motorway, M-2, was constructed in such a way that its major length passed through an area famous all over the world for the cultivation of tasty citrus fruits. With the construction of this motorway, not only was the country deprived of trees but the reduction in the production of the fruits resulted in the loss of badly needed foreign exchange.

As there is no system of check and balance on the poisonous gases being emitted from the vehicles passing through the motorway, the adverse effects of these gases are resulting in the overall reduction in the output of the fruits. With just simple and sane planning, the existing GT road from Lahore to Islamabad could have been converted into a motorway without disturbing the environmental protection and production of citrus fruits and crops. The beauty of this area and could have been converted into a tourist attraction.

Moreover, the cost of M-2 would have gone down to almost fifty per cent. But our ruling elite was more interested in attracting the voters by claiming M-2 as a giant project for the welfare, benefit and prosperity of the people of Pakistan. A very hefty budget motorway was built for the poor of the country, which more than ninety per cent of the countrymen just can’t imagine enjoying, as they travel on animal-driven carts or on foot or those very lucky who take their family for a ride on two-wheelers. All these are banned on all motorways. The then Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, while inaugurating M-2, loudly and proudly declared that there was no motorway in India. He had, however, forgotten that India was economically far ahead of Pakistan at that time and that India had built roads from grain markets to cities, thus, increasing not only exports but making it possible to bring food items from the remote areas at cheaper rates and quicker pace.

The famous Mall Road of Lahore was known as “Thandi Sarak” (Cool Road) before independence because of the dense rows of shady trees on both sides of the road. Through these, sun rays were unable to generate heat, thus, providing the people with a place to escape from the heat of Lahore. Yet, in the name of development, those precious trees were mercilessly uprooted, and the Lahore Development Authority never bothered to plant trees to compensate them. This is not the only case but all over the country, trees were considered a useless, futile and unproductive product; taken for granted to be used for burning and manufacturing furniture.

The self-claimed Field Marshal, Ayub Khan, for the reasons best known to him and his team, decided to shift the capital of the country from Karachi. For that, he built Islamabad “The Beautiful” at the cost of sacrificing billions of trees and natural harvest. On top of that, what were the political consequences of that senseless idea is another debate.

The overall impact of all such “Development Schemes” resulted in depriving the green country of one of its most precious treasures. The present generation is left to the mercy of an unnatural living environment; encountering dense fog/smog, floods and other natural disasters.

Another dangerous trend, which is depleting our forests, is the use of wood-fired boilers, which are getting popular day by day. The reason being the daily increasing price of liquid fuels. The owners of industrial units are simply interested in multiplying their bank balances without giving a second thought to the consequences of operating the wood-fired boilers. In these highly inefficient boilers, the fuel burned mercilessly is the one, which is the asset for our future generations. These boilers are manufactured by the people having no experience in this sensitive field. No safety standards are followed. We daily read and hear stories of boiler explosions; causing deaths of poor workers, but the concerned authorities are least bothered. What to talk of the cold-blooded murder of our forests!

To produce one tonne of steam per hour, approximately 250 kg of wood is used. Normally, small and medium-range boilers produce five to 10 tonnes of steam per hour. I leave it to the readers and researchers to calculate the amount of wood being wasted in the boilers only and the devastating impact of this ugly, dangerous and grievous business on the environment.

The commonly used wood for burning is from the trees of popular, Acacia, known as Kikar, Talli, Eucalyptus, (Safeda) Pine, Chesham and many more. These trees take several years to attain full height and seconds to burn; causing an irreparable loss of badly-needed forests and severely affecting the environment due to the harmful gases being emitted from the funnels of these highly dangerous boilers.

Laws exist in our country for the preservation of the forests and unnecessary cutting of the trees, but like in every field, the wood mafia is also free to carry out their business illegally and unlawfully. There are alternate sources of energy available in abundances like coal and biomass, which, if used in place of wood, will yield better results in the form of heat rate and savings in terms of Rupees.

It’s a matter of shame and disgrace for us that even in poor countries like Bhutan and Nepal, the total forest area is much more than that of Pakistan. Bhutan has 72 per cent cover while that of Nepal is 40 per cent of the total land area. Our neighbouring country, India, has a total forest area of 23 per cent which is increasing every year. In the US, there is complete darkness near the Great Canyon after sunset as no artificial or manmade lights are available. Only, the lovely and fascinating light of stars and the moon are present. Even the vehicles passing on the nearby roads switch off their lights for the people, who come there to get close to nature. This is how nations become great.

Pakistan is constitutionally an Islamic Republic. In Islam, cutting trees is forbidden even in Jihad unless and until it’s really necessary from the defence point of view, whereas we the “proud” citizens of the land of pure are cutting and burning our forests just to get financial benefits.

It’s expected from the new government to strictly prohibit the usage of wood in furnaces and severely punish and heavily fine those found not following the law of the land. Along with it, the authorities should confiscate all such boilers using wood, and take appropriate steps to forcefully stop their manufacture.

To save and conserve our forests, as a first step, the government is requested to completely ban the use of wood-fired boilers. Secondly, it should put restrictions on establishing industrial units at fertile and cultivated lands along with encouraging the industrial units for tree plantations with incentives; making it compulsory for all industrial units, schools and organisations to plant trees on certain areas within their domain.

The writer is a former marine engineer and presently serves in a private organisation