The Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in ...

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V. Local level Approaches to Deal With DeforestationVillage Land Use and Planning (VLUP) is a new approach developed at the communitylevel for the participatory management of designated forests in NWFP. Each villagecommunity has its own (exclusive) land use principles, which are often in conflict with otherstakeholder's views. Under VLUP all communities settle their disputes by coming to termswith each other. This consensus building process involves identification of units for landuse and finalization of management plans. It calls for strengthening civil society at differentlevels as genuine requirement for the success of the process.Farm Forestry is another approach and it targets the poor and disadvantaged groupsthrough the involvement of local CBOs and NGOs in NWFP. It was launched to checkincreased pressure on the resources leading toward reduced vegetation cover and fertility.This participatory and holistic approach is a paradigm shift, which focuses on areas ofplantation, has low opportunity cost and higher return and aims at poverty reductionthrough encouraging enterprise. It ensures sustainability by creating skills enhancementand ownership, systematic planning and management of the resources. If managementplans are worked out properly, it holds out greater opportunities for diversification andmaximization of profits and leads to sustainable livelihood and positive impact on localbiodiversity and water regime.VI. Areas for Further ResearchThe findings of this study suggest further research to carry out baseline study to collectauthentic and reliable data on forest biodiversity and ecology. It also calls research intohow and where GIS and remote sensing techniques can be usefully employed in forestsciences and management in Pakistan. Improvement of forecasting techniques (forexample, projections of rates of deforestation, changes in land use, or estimates of soilerosion over a period of time in the future) can also play a very important role to bridgeinformation gaps in the policy making process. And last but not the least research into ananalysis of what kinds of community forestry projects work and which don't work, thereasons for success or failure and new legislation on forests use and management and tocheck trading of timber should go al long way to get to grips with the challenge ofdeforestation.VII. ConclusionsThere is a need for a permanent think tank outside the government and advocacy groupsto support forest policy formulation and implementation process on a perpetual basis asreflected in the Forest Policy 2001. The government should focus on improvement offorest management practices to prevent the loss of biodiversity (for example, reduce thepractice of giving preference to certain species for their commercial value and ignoringother species). The integration of ecosystem approach into forest management canprevent further fragmentation of forest habitats.The government needs to incorporate taxonomy in forest management. Including womenin forest management decisions and forestry projects should address the genderdimensions of deforestation. In the final analysis the effective enforcement of the existinglaws and regulations on forests use and management and involvement of the communitiesin the policy making process from the very outset enables the government to address and
arrest sharp forest decline by creating a feeling of sense of ownership and empowermentamong communities.1Zia, S. (2002) "Communities and Forests: Indigenous Capacities and the Rights of theForest Dependent Communities" A paper presented in workshop on underlying causes ofdeforestation and forests degradation in Pakistan held in Islamabad LEAD Pakistan.2Zia, S. (2002) "Communities and Forests: Indigenous Capacities and the Rights of theForest Dependent Communities" A paper presented in workshop on underlying causes ofdeforestation and forests degradation in Pakistan held in Islamabad LEAD Pakistan.
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