Forests are the backbone of sustainable economic growth in Pakistan and the business community ought to invest in the forestry sector of Punjab to gain lucrative returns, observed Tahir Rasheed, CEO, South Punjab Forest Company (SPFC), during his address at a seminar entitled “Investment Opportunities in Forestry Sector in South Punjab”.
The seminar had been organized by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with SPFC for sensitizing the business community about investment potential in the country’s green future.
Tahir Rasheed said that according a 2015 FAO report, just 1.9% of the total area of Pakistan had forest cover, while the country faced an average deforestation rate of 2.1% in the 1990–2015 period, which is extremely alarming.
He said if this deforestation rate continued for the next 50 years, Pakistan would be a country with no forests. He said however, that given the increasing demand for wood products, the forestry sector offered attractive investment opportunities with high returns and low risk.
He said SPFC has been allocated 134,995 acres of land in 6 districts of South Punjab including Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, and Muzzafargarh.
He added that investment in these areas would not only ensure sustainable supply of firewood, fodder, fibre, plywood, paper, and pulp to meet the needs of forest-based industries, it will also reduce the import bill of the country.
He urged those in attendance to promote green investments and create green jobs in the rural areas of South Punjab. He said investors would be provided encroachment-free land and that they could invest in 6-8 species of forestry.
He assured those present that SPFC would provide technical and other support to investors and would coordinate with key stakeholders in addressing any environmental or ecological concerns.
Speaking at the occasion, Tahir Ayub, Vice President ICCI welcomed the initiatives of SPFC and hoped that its efforts would promote green entrepreneurship. He said that ICCI would play its role in promoting this idea as positive contribution towards green economic growth, innovation and job creation. He suggested that a specific security force on the pattern of CPEC project force should be considered for ensuring investment protection in green future.
The seminar aimed to gather together views of various ICCI members on making the process inclusive which can be incorporated in the upcoming feasibility study.