Title Pakistan Forest Digest Issue 01- A4 - Pakistan Research Group

SDPISustainable Development Policy InstituteChapter 02Forest DepartmentNeem becomes Sindh’s official treeDaily Times Islamabad, April 14, 2010KARACHI: A long struggle by environmentalists andnature conservationists paid dividends on Tuesdaywhen the Sindh government declared Neem, a treewith medicinal properties, as the official tree of theprovince.The decision was announced through a notificationissued by the Sindh chief secretary.Environmentalists have welcomed the decision andurged the Sindh government to take steps for massscaleplantation of this tree in the province.The officials of the Indus for All Programme of theWWF-Pakistan had selected four indigenous trees forthis status and submitted their names to differentuniversities, government departments, independentresearchers and environmentalists. After longdiscussions, Neem and Babool trees were selected forthe official status.It was expected that the Sindh government would alsoselect a bird, animal and flower for the official status.“The country has a national bird, animal and tree, butmost of them belong to mountainous ranges, therefore,we decided to start a struggle for giving official statusto an indigenous tree, bird, animal and flower, so thatthe province may also take interest in theirconservation,” said regional director of the WWF-Pakistan’s Indus for All Programme, Dr GhulamAkbar.Nasir Ali Panhwar of the Indus for All Programmewelcomed the decision and said the initiative signifiesthe provincial government’s commitment towards theconservation of the natural forests of Sindh. InPakistan, Neem is found in Sindh and some parts ofsouthern Punjab. It is also found in India, Bangladeshand some parts of China and Malaysia.According to the official data of the Sindh ForestDepartment, the Neem trees in Umerkot, Hyderabadand Karachi districts are the oldest in the province.During the British rule, Neem was planted at railwaysstations and the embankments of canals to maintain ahealthy environment. Amar GuriroLetter to EditorAnnihilation of forests in PunjabDawn Islamabad, June 09, 2010INSTEAD of preserving the fastdepletingforests, it is theGovernment of Punjab which isplaying the part of a predator byleasing out 30,000 acres of forestland for agricultural purposes astimely reported in Dawn, “Punjabgovernment to axe forest area by30,000 acres” (June 2). The antiforests’decision has been taken bythe cabinet notwithstandingserious reservations of theprovincial forest department.The plan was envisaged by thechief minister to providelivelihood to the unemployedyouth of the province.According to the plan, theprovincial government will leaseout 25 acres of the forest land toeach unemployed person holding amaster’s degree in forestry orPakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010