The WWF’s Indus for All Programme and Forest Department organised a ceremony in the Pai Forest to observe the World Forest Day. Three hundred saplings were planted on the occasion.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shaheed Benazirabad Additional Deputy Commissioner Akhtar Hussain Qureshi said forests play a vital role in the rural economy and maintains the natural ecosystem.
“The decline in forest coverage is alarming and more attention is needed to control the current rate of deforestation,” he added.
He emphasised the need to develop public-private partnership for forest conservation. He said the communities living near the forest can help protect existing forest coverage and they must be encouraged in this regard.
WWF Programme Coordinator Nasir Ali Panhwar said forests in Sindh are facing both natural and manmade threats and strategies needs to be devised to address both threats, which are detrimental for forests. “The world is facing numerous environmental challenges including climate change and environmental degradation. These could be addressed through planting more trees and enhancing forest coverage,” he added.
He further said trees and plants are the prime source of environmental purification and beautification and suggested to promote indigenous species of trees instead of invasive species.
“The WWF is assisting the Sindh Forest Department to revise the Sindh Forest Act 1927 to bring new and pragmatic concepts in forest management in Sindh,” he informed the audience.
Divisional Forest Officer Usama Anwar said the downstream Sukkur barrage Pai is only forest left intact.
“The department is striving to remove illegal encroachments from the forest despite threats from multiple stakeholders. Invasive species like will be replaced with native species in the Pai Forest,” he added. “The agro forest policy has failed achieve its objectives.”
WWF Pai Site Manager Hafeezullah said the communities of Pai have been organised to protect the forest. “Many initiatives including provision of biogas units and livestock model farms have been taken to reduce pressure on the forest,” he added.
