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

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SDPISustainable Development Policy InstituteChapter 06Orchards‘No botanical survey ever done in country’Dawn Islamabad, June 18, 2010By Faiza IlyasKARACHI, June 17: Pakistan islosing its flora at an alarming rate.It has the second highest rate ofdeforestation in the world, andstudies suggest it would lose allnaturally grown trees within 15years if no mass-scaleconservation efforts were put inplace.The awareness of plantsignificance in government circlesmay be gauged from the fact thatthere is no department in thecountry that works for plantprotection. Hence, no botanicalsurvey has ever been carried out inthe country’s history.An authentic red data book onplants has never been producedand no importance has ever beenattached to plant conservationwhile declaring an area protected.These were some of the importantpoints highlighted by notedbotanist Prof Dr MohammadQaiser at a seminar onconservation of biodiversity heldin the arts auditorium of KarachiUniversity on Thursday.Dr Qaiser is the vice-chancellor ofthe Federal Urdu University forArts, Science and Technology andalso the co-editor of Flora ofPakistan. The book carryingscientific details of all theindigenous flowering plant speciesof the country is the firstcomprehensive work on thesubject.Giving his presentation on floraldiversity of Pakistan, Dr Qaisersaid the country blessed with someof the highest peaks in the world,glaciers and a 1,050-kilometrelongcoastline was a land ofcontrasts in many respects. Thisdiversity in geographicalconditions had given birth to ahuge variety in flora and fauna.A numerical analysis of Pakistan’sflora, he said, had shown that therewere 221 flowering families and5,700 flowering species. Of them,65 per cent families wererepresented by fewer than 10 percent species and about 405 specieswere endemic.“The country could be divided intofour regions according to thegeographic distribution of plantspecies of which the most rich interms of floral biodiversity is theIrano-Turanian region that includeGilgit-Baltistan, parts of Kashmir,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa andBalochistan. It has the bulk offloral species, that is, 45.6 per centof the total floral species,” he said.Referring to deforestation, he saidPakistan had the second highestrate of deforestation after Brazil inthe world and it was annuallylosing four to six per cent ofwoody biomass.“It is claimed that 4.5 to 4.7 percent of the total land mass in thecountry is covered by forests. Butthere is no ground survey tosupport that claim. Studies,however, suggest that Pakistanwith this current rate of forestdepletion would lose all itsnaturally grown trees in 10 to 15years,” he said.Regarding strategies for plantconservation, he said there was adire need to carry out a botanicalsurvey of the whole country todetermine the actual status of allplant species.“Priority should be given toendemic species in conservation.Researches have shown that amajority of the over 50 endemicspecies found in the northern areasand Sindh are criticallyendangered. There is a dire need toprotect these plants and carry outmonitoring of vegetation,” he said.No conservation effort, however,could be successful if localcommunities were not involvedand a sustainable solution to theirPakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010
SDPISustainable Development Policy Institutefinancial problems was not found,he added.Speaking on the impact of climatechange, Dr Moazzam Ali Khan ofthe Institute of EnvironmentalStudies said the impact of thephenomenon would be severe incoming years on Pakistan, alreadyfacing a number of challenges.Giving some statistics on Sindh,he said: “The 1996-2000 data hasshown that the average rainfall hasdeclined 10 to 15 per cent and thefrequency of draught hasincreased. The underground andsurface water resources aredepleting fast with the increasingpollution.There has been 50 per centreduction in crop yield over theyears in Sindh and farmers havebeen forced to change croppattern. About 5,670,000 hectareshave been lost to sea. The 17major creeks have virtually turnedinto saline creeks as there has beendrastic decline in freshwaterrelease over the years.The freshwater flow downstreamthe Kotri barrage has decreasedfrom 150 million acres feet in1955 to less than 2MAF.”These conditions, he said, wouldget severe in coming years.“The poor are facing numeroushardships, many of whom havebeen forced to migrate to urbanareas. Studies have shown thatwheat consumption has gone downin Pakistan as people earlier takingthree meals a day arenow surviving on twomeals.”Prof Pirzada QasimRaza Siddiqui, the KUvice-chancellor; ProfShahana Urooj Kazmi, pro-vicechancellor;Dr Pirzada JamalSiddiqui and Dr Anjum Perveenalso spoke.The Centre for Plant Conservation,the Centre of Excellence in MarineBiology, the Institute ofEnvironmental Studies, theInstitute of Marine Sciences andthe departments of marinesciences, microbiology andzoology had jointly organised theevent.English Translations of Urdu ClippingsUnidentified persons cut 1000 loquat treesDaily Azadi, Swat, May 07, 2010Takht Bhai (Special Correspondent) Unidentifiedpersons have cut down 1000 loquat trees from anorchard. Owner of the orchard Sameenullah son ofInamullah has registered a report in Mardan policestation.Gardens are historical assets; action must be takenagain those destroying gardens: Aijaz Afzal;There were 28 gardens in Peshawar but only 8 remain there; gardens have beendestroyed by land grabbers; petitioners; Chief justice Peshawar High Courtorders archeology department to present recordsDaily Mashriq, Peshawar, May 13, 2010Peshawar (Courts Reporter) On awrit petition filed against thedestruction of historical gardens ofMughal period Peshawar HighCourt has sought pictures andrecords of the gardens. In thepetition filed by ShakilWahidullah it has been said thatout of 28 gardens in Peshawaronly 8 are still intact.Even these remaining gardenshave been occupied by the landmafia. Wazir Bagh and ShahiBagh are part of historical heritagebut football grounds, schools,colleges and fun land have beenPakistan Forest Digest Vol. 1, No. 1, April – June, 2010
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