Sarhad Conservation Network (SCN) has asked Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Justice ® Syed Arshad Hussain Shah to take notice of ruthless deforestation in the province especially in the winter season. In a press statement issued here on Thursday, Sarhad Conservation Network (SCN) said that KP forests are shrinking at an alarming rate as they remain the main source of firewood and timber for markets all over Pakistan.
The powerful timber mafia has been clandestinely involved in ruthless deforestation in all districts of KP, SCN alleged. Last year, shocking images of illegal timber being transported in large trucks and tractors to markets, SCN added.
The timber mafia in Peshawar has now started targeting a large number of trees, which are coming under the axe on pretext of trimming branches, and cutting down tree trunks, SCN lamented. According to Global Forest Watch, from 2001 to 2022, KP lost access to 11,000 acres of tree cover, mostly in Malakand and Hazara. To put it in perspective, the entire reserved forest in Abbottabad District (Galies Forest Division) is about 38,000 acres. KP government Director General Audit, has reported the fastest rate estimated at 1.5 per cent deforestation annually on its website. 2023 was ranked as the hottest year in recorded history of the world. The future holds more disasters in view of ongoing deforestation, it warned.
The population explosion has added to an increase in demand for timber. Moreover, in the winter season, the unavailability of natural gas and inflated bills due to higher taxation of utilities has become an unaffordable luxury for common people.
