A ban on transporting chopped timber had been imposed by the government since the early 1990s to discourage deforestation.
Aftab Haider, advisor on forests and wildlife, said previously the total timber in the valley was four million cubic feet (MMcf), of which two million cubic feet had been cut legally and can now be exported. Another 2MMcf of illegally cut timber will only be allowed to be transported within Gilgit-Baltistan.
The G-B cabinet, following the establishment of a regional government in 2009, sent a timber policy to the federal government for approval by the prime minister.
“We are happy the prime minister has honoured our summary,” said Haider, adding that the lifting of the ban is a step forward towards economic prosperity not only in the Diamer valley, but also in G-B.
Days prior to the approval, traders and local communities in Chilas town had been protesting to lift the ban. Traffic on the Karakoram Highway was twice suspended due to the protest, creating difficulties for commuters travelling between G-B and Rawalpindi.
The timber was starting to decay after being exposed to the sun and rains. Chopped timber stock was also piling up on both sides of the highway.
The forests in Diamer district are owned by local communities, but are regulated under the Forest Regulations of 1970 and managed by the G-B Forest Department.
Under the accession deal signed by the government in 1952, the communities of Chilas, Darel and Tangir own the private forests.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2013.
By Shabbir Mir
Published: March 12, 2013
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Reader Comments
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Please read this decision by the outgoing Prime Minister along with the last legal amendment by the Sindh Assembly: in the later the members of the provincial assembly have been granted lifelong privileges so one province will continue to cut trees while the other will continue to provide luxuries to the Parliamentarians
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Combating illegal logging key to saving our forests and preventing climate change
Protecting the world’s last remaining natural forests is crucial to global efforts to tackle climate change. There is widespread and growing scientific consensus that it will only be possible to avoid the tipping point when climate change becomes irreversible if we achieve both a reduction in overall industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, and establish an effective mechanism to protect forests from further degradation or deforestation. Living forests are the earth’s green lungs that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, keeping our biosphere in balance. Logging and clearing forests releases that carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, with deforestation currently estimated to account for 17 per cent of global carbon emissions, more than from all the world’s air, road, rail and shipping traffic combined.Forests are also an important reservoir of biodiversity, providing habitat for more than two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial species. A cure for cancer, and countless other diseases, is likely to be found amongst the exotic species in our forests. But it is not just for environmental reasons that forest protection has captivated our imagination: forests keep more than 1.6 billion people alive. A quarter of the world’s population lives in or depends on forests for their food, medicines, shelter and fuel, with 90 per cent of the population living below the poverty line dependent entirely or in part on forests for their survival.
During the last few years, international climate change negotiations have focused on establishing a financial mechanism to reward countries for implementing policies that protect their forests. This mechanism, known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries), has focused principally on finding positive financial incentives to motivate industry and governments to shift their policies to favour more sustainable forestry practices. The REDD mechanism is supported by the United Nations, the World Bank and other initiatives.
Billions of dollars have been committed for REDD , most of that originating in developed countries and spent in developing countries. This funding has focused on the preparation phase of REDD , supporting developing countries to create national strategies, undertake policy reform and capacity building. The ultimate objective is to bring about an overall shift in government policy and industry practice towards sustainable forest management. Providing positive financial incentives – such as tax breaks, subsidies and the opportunity to generate carbon credits – will play an important role in encouraging this shift. However, while it is important to use positive incentives to reward good behaviour, we must also punish bad behaviour. Even the best forest management policies will be ineffective unless complemented by robust enforcement mechanisms.
Coupling financial incentives with stronger law enforcement is the best way to bring about long-term change in forestry practice. Unfortunately, not enough focus has been given to building law enforcement capacity. Tackling forestry crime, particularly illegal logging, should be one of the first steps in the battle to save the world’s forests. Every two seconds, an area of forest the size of a football field is clear-cut by illegal loggers, with the highest rates of deforestation taking place in the regions where illegal logging is at its worst – the Amazon Basin, Central Africa and Southeast Asia.
Illegal logging is a direct indicator of weak forest governance. Unless robust forest governance is implemented, even the best government policies will be repeatedly undermined by an industry that simply ignores those policies in favour of quick financial gains. As it stands, between 15 and 30 per cent of all timber traded globally is estimated to come from illegal sources. Focusing on key forested countries, the situation is more acute, with 50-90 per cent of their timber exports estimated to be illegal. Tackling illegal logging is, therefore, crucial to preventing overall forest loss. This has been seen in the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia and Cameroon, where law enforcement efforts during the past decade have brought illegal logging rates down by 50-75 per cent and saved up to 17 million hectares of forest from degradation.
In addition to causing forest loss, illegal logging has a significant negative impact on government revenue, economic stability and public health.
Illegal logging, and the corruption supporting it, costs governments around USD 30 billion every year. Stronger law enforcement efforts can help recover this lost revenue. For every dollar invested to reduce illegal logging, between two and six dollars of additional revenue can be generated – up to a six-fold return on investment.
Illegal logging operations are incredibly destructive, with operators moving into and out of a forest, extracting what they can quickly with little regard for the environment. Illegal land clearing pollutes water sources and causes landslides and other natural disasters, while illegal logging operations run by organized criminal networks deny forest-dependent communities access to their food, medicine and fuel.
A coordinated and international response is essential to combat the organized transnational criminal groups involved in forestry crime. Stronger law enforcement efforts in one country must be supported by the neighbouring countries to ensure the illegal logging operations do not simply relocate across the border.
Law enforcement officers in many timber producing countries face many challenges, including low wages, little training and poor equipment. Their efforts need the support of the importing countries, who can have a direct impact on demand for illegal timber by prohibiting the import and sale of illegally sourced wood. While such legislation exists in the United States, enforcement and prosecutions are rare. Similar legislation has been introduced Australia and the European Union, although there is no indication yet whether other major importing countries will follow suit.
Finally, it is important to recognize that reducing the supply of illegal timber on the global market helps reduce overall timber demand, a vital ingredient in efforts to protect forests. Illegal logging floods the market with cheap wood, suppressing global timber prices between seven and 16 per cent. Tackling illegal logging will increase overall timber prices to reflect its true market value, consequently reducing demand and making efforts to improve the efficiency of timber processing, recycling and re-use more economically viable. It will also benefit the law-abiding members of the timber industry by allowing them to obtain appropriate market prices for their timber. Such companies are currently being denied about USD 30 billion per year in lost profits.
It is important that incentives, regulations, punishments and rewards must all be simultaneously implemented in order to promote forest protection and sustainable forest management. International negotiations, which have so far focused only on providing incentives, should also turn their consideration to strategies to strengthen forest governance, including directly addressing illegal logging and building the capacity of law enforcement authorities in forested countries. This is an issue that needs to be brought into the debate and made a central component of the actions taken by developing countries to address deforestation and forest degradation.
Davyth Stewart
Criminal Intelligence Officer
Team Leader, Project LEAF -
Timber Mafia is stronger than the legitimate governments. This policy forever has two objectives of enhancing financial charges to allow transport of timber and benefit the policy makers i.e. Federal Minster for GB and AJK.
Apart from the status of deodar as national tree in Pakistan these forests are part of habitat of many CITES listed animals also like Musk deer, Astore Markhor and endemic species like Woolly flying Squirrel.
The NGOs in Pakistan do not play their role as pressure groups but most likely they are in the business of consulting and supporting role in policy formulation and services delivery. The two of the NGOs mentioned by George are partners with government. In fact there is no real NGO or civil society on forefront to oppose the government for such crimes.Ali Ahmad Jan
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Can every body read this with the positive news also from Pakistan
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-162785-Roadmap-process-for-improving-forest-protection-initiated -
Islamabad
Roadmap process for improving forest protection initiatedFriday, March 01, 2013
From Print Edition38 0 0 16
Islamabad
The Ministry of Climate Change, ICIMOD and WWF-Pakistan, with the support of the One UN Joint Programme on Environment, took an important step towards making forests a major part of Pakistan’s strategy to combat climate change, says a press release.
Over 60 forestry experts and stakeholders gathered to initiate a ‘roadmap’ process for improving forest protection and management.
A mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is now one of the key elements of international climate change negotiations. REDD+ is a new way of financing good forest management.
Industrialised nations will provide incentives to developing countries for their efforts to reduce the rate at which forests are lost or damaged, and to increase forest cover and quality, using accurate assessment of the level of carbon in forests as an indicator of success.
The ministry has already taken steps to introduce REDD+ to Pakistan by forming a national REDD+ steering committee, and securing support from the One UN JPE to begin a REDD+ readiness project, which aims to identify the drivers of forest loss and degradation in Pakistan, and strategies to address them.
The REDD+ Roadmap process launched at Thursday’s workshop draws on the experience of several other countries in Asia and the Pacific, with technical support from the United National Collaborative Programme on REDD+ (the UN-REDD Programme), jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The UN-REDD programme will provide additional financial support to the Pakistan REDD+ Roadmap process, in coordination with the One UN JPE project.
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Roadmap process for improving forest protection initiated
Friday, March 01, 2013
From Print Edition38 0 0 16
Islamabad
The Ministry of Climate Change, ICIMOD and WWF-Pakistan, with the support of the One UN Joint Programme on Environment, took an important step towards making forests a major part of Pakistan’s strategy to combat climate change, says a press release.
Over 60 forestry experts and stakeholders gathered to initiate a ‘roadmap’ process for improving forest protection and management.
A mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is now one of the key elements of international climate change negotiations. REDD+ is a new way of financing good forest management.
Industrialised nations will provide incentives to developing countries for their efforts to reduce the rate at which forests are lost or damaged, and to increase forest cover and quality, using accurate assessment of the level of carbon in forests as an indicator of success.
The ministry has already taken steps to introduce REDD+ to Pakistan by forming a national REDD+ steering committee, and securing support from the One UN JPE to begin a REDD+ readiness project, which aims to identify the drivers of forest loss and degradation in Pakistan, and strategies to address them.
The REDD+ Roadmap process launched at Thursday’s workshop draws on the experience of several other countries in Asia and the Pacific, with technical support from the United National Collaborative Programme on REDD+ (the UN-REDD Programme), jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The UN-REDD programme will provide additional financial support to the Pakistan REDD+ Roadmap process, in coordination with the One UN JPE project.
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How could the other provinces located between the markets at Lahore and Karachi and where this deforestation is happening keep silent. In the absence of any federal agency to look after national forestry issues the provinces of Punjab, KP and Sindh can impose their own taxes to make this timber less attractive for smugglers. This is the one way to stop deforestation !
LET US LOBBY TO CONVINCE PROVINCES OF PUNJAB AND KYBER PAKHTUNKHWA TO LEVY HEAVY TAXES ON THIS TIMBER ESTIMATED AT 3 BILLION RUPEES -
As reported in the Provincial Assembly by the Minister Forests Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The good news is that 3 percent of forest area has increased in Khyber province ever since the present DG was posted at the Forest Institute. 3 percent increase means 5 million Acres just in three years. WWF was partner of PFI in this district level research
The best way is to request Mr Bokhari to take over the charge of Secretary Forests Gilgit and resolved this problem -
Sometime back I wrote a paper in International Journal of Pavements on how to make Kara Korum Highway (KKH) as an all weather road that can be used throughout the year with minimum disruptions.
I wonder do you really want to increase deforestation in Pakistan by exporting timber to china instead of exporting fuel/gas through pipelines, not by trucks.
I would say that a rail line will be an additional transport project that can be supported by China by funds and technical support in exchange for preferred trade from Arabia Sea.
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23rd March is Pakistan Day. No news about it?
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Sometime back I wrote a paper in International Journal of Pavements on how to make Kara Korum Highway (KKH) as an all weather road that can be used throughout the year with minimum disruptions.
I wonder do you really want to increase deforestation in Pakistan by exporting timber to china instead of exporting fuel/gas through pipelines, not by trucks.
I would say that a rail line will be an additional transport project that can be supported by China’s funds and technical expertise top open trade corridor to China from Arabia Sea.
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There is no scientific issues involved in deforestation in Gilgit Baltistan, as the issue has more economic and political basis. The people living there have no much economic opportunities and dependent upon natural resources including forests. In the recent past the government officials especially from neighboring KP took advantage of the poverty and exploited the resources through such dubious policies and administrative measures. For some people Gilgit Baltistan is still a free grazing area and they as some Bokhari to take charge, amazing.
The route with China has nothing to do with this subject as the author has his own opinion which too very ill informed.
Government and people of Pakistan should seriously think about payment for environment services by forests in the watershed of the country and compensate the custodians. Alternative solutions can be worked out to provide more direct benefits to the local communities rather than charging extra fines by others on the commodities owned by someone else as such a practice has led to more exploitation of resources to meet the ends.Ali
Alas.now deforestation will speed up
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