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PRESS COVERAGE REPORT
Riphah International University organizes Seminar to mark
International Forest Day
‫ارٹنلنشین‬‫رافہ‬‫رپ‬‫ومعق‬‫ےک‬‫ڈے‬‫افرٹس‬‫ل‬‫ش‬‫ی‬‫ن‬‫ارٹن‬‫ر‬‫ا‬‫ن‬‫م‬‫سی‬‫اامتہم‬‫زری‬‫ےک‬‫ویوینریٹس‬
‫الگنجت‬‫وہاگ‬‫ڑباھان‬‫اعتون‬‫ںیم‬‫آابدویں‬‫اقمیم‬‫اور‬‫وکحتم‬‫ےئل‬‫ےک‬‫اھتم‬‫روک‬‫یک‬‫اٹکؤ‬‫ےک‬
Covered in Newspapers:
1. The News (Opening & Closing)
2. National Herald Tribune
3. ‫وناےئ‬‫وتق‬
4. ‫اہج‬‫ں‬‫اپاتسکن‬
5. ‫د‬‫این‬
6. ‫ارپسکیسی‬
7. ‫ااسس‬
8. ‫اواصف‬
9. ‫امس‬

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Text of the Press Release – English
Riphah marks the International Forest Day with the proposal of collaboration between
government and local communities to control deforestation
A seminar in context of UN International Day of Forests was organized by Riphah Institute of Public
Policy, Riphah International University and Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) on
March 21, 2016 in Islamabad. The seminar discussed the various options available with the government
to conserve the national forests in collaboration with local communities. The audience appreciated
Riphah’s initiative to facilitate the government and academia to collaborate and find solutions for the
most concerning issue of ‘deforestation’ in country.
Mr. Ali Salman, Executive Director of PRIME, presented his research paper on “The Footprints of
Leviathan: Dwindling Forests of Pakistan”. He asserted that the government should collaborate with
local communities in developing the forests, instead of their nationalization. He proposed the solutions
in the form of ‘Joint Forest Management’ (JFM) and appropriate legislation to manage the forests as the
common property.
Dr. Masood Raja, Professor at University of Texas, responded to the various options discussed in the
forum. He emphasized is that privatization is not the solution for the current problems. He was of the
opinion that government can significantly make an impact because it doesn’t have a profit-motive in its
initiatives.
Mr. A.M. Kaimkhani, DIG Forests, Ministry of Climate Change mentioned that deforestation is mainly
caused by the four factors including increased adoption of technology, forest fire, trading timber and
infrastructure development. However, he asserted that after UN Climate Change Conference 2015, the
Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef has issued several directives to ensure that the government is keenly
working to curtail the impact of climate change and deforestation. He further apprised the audience
with the fact that though environment is a provincial subject, the central government is actively working
in coordination and monitoring of the provinces.
The ceremony was concluded with the remarks of Dr. Rashid Aftab, Director Riphah Institute of Public
Policy, that that a technical session will be held at Ministry of Climate Change to discuss the draft forest
policy and propose intervention in consultation with Riphah - Prime.

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