Daily Times

Islamabad: Owing to rapid cutting of trees in the country, the adverse effects on climate change may take place if the government does not take timely measures for the safety of forests.

As usual the federal government, instead of taking immediate solid and long term steps to save and improve forests, asked the provincial governments to do so.

The Ministry of Climate Change released a framework policy report according to which Pakistan is the country, which has the most less forest covered area in the world.

According to Forest Sector Master Plan Report Pakistan had 4.2 million hectares of land which were covered by natural jungles in 1992, which was 4.8 per cent of the whole terra firma. However unluckily no survey was conducted since long to ascertain the total area covered by forests in Pakistan.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of UNO had issued a report in 2007 which revealed that at that time Pakistan had 4.34 million hectares of land, which was 5 per cent of the total land. Out of the forest covered area some 3.44 million hectares of land was owned by the government whereas private sector owned 0.78 million hectares of forest land.

The country is facing the destruction of forests on 31658 hectares of land per annum which is 0.75 per cent of the entire land by virtue of high rate of increasing population, developing more and more housing colonies, due to which Pakistan is facing a speedy climate change, broadening the different diseases on human beings, assault of germs on agriculture cultivation and natural calamities especially exploding the floods with immense speed.

The federal government has directed the provincial government to conduct a scientific based research in collaboration with the international and national research institute on the species of trees which are going short in the jungles of Pakistan.

The government also instructed provinces to commence a mass awareness programme on a war footing basis to save the forests and to plant trees.