Forests in KPK provide important ecological benefits but are being degraded through deforestation. Deforestation is removing forests for agriculture, urbanization, infrastructure like roads, and for fuel needs. It causes issues like increased flooding, loss of habitat and wildlife, and changes to climate and crop yields. Militancy in Malakand led to half the forests being lost 2007-2009. Solutions include increasing forest guards, equipment, and funds which are currently inadequate given the challenges faced by the KPK forest sector. Corruption and illegal logging also need to be addressed.

1. NAME FURQAN
KHAN
ASSIGMENT
DEFORESTATION IN KPK

2. INTRODUCTION
• A forest is best defined as an ecosystem or assemblage of
ecosystems dominated by trees and other woody vegetation.
• Vegetation is the plant cover of the Earth and includes trees,
shrubs, grasses, lianas (vines which climb up trees) and mosses.
Of these, trees are the most important to humans because
they supply timber and firewood. They also help reduce run-
off, soil erosion and air pollution.

3. IMPORTANCE OF FOREST
• Forests are important in very different ways. From an
ecological point of view, they help to maintain balance in
the environment by checking pollution and protecting the
soil from erosion by wind or water, particularly on sloping
ground. By preventing soil erosion, the trees on the slopes
of hills also regulate the supply of water to the reservoirs
there by preventing floods.

4. CATEGORIES OF FORESTS IN KPK
• Reserved forests
These are those forests, which are the exclusive property
of the state and bear only minor concessions like right of
way, collection of fuel wood and permission of grazing by
animals of the local communities. These forests are
situated in Hazara division in Haripur, Galiyat
(Abbottabad), Kaghan, Siran and Agror Tanewal
(Mansehra District). They were demarcated in the
settlement of 1872 and 1905. The total area of reserved
forests is 96,754 ha or 238,983 acres.

5. CATEGORIES OF FORESTS IN KPK
• Guzara Forests
They are also called wasteland in legal documents and are
the property of the local owners, in most cases divided
amongst families in the revenue record. The management
of these forests however is originally vested in the deputy
commissioner of the district and delegated to the forest
department via the Guzara rules of 1950. The total area is
549,766 ha or 1,347,923 acres, While the productive
forests of these lands are about 263,160 ha or 650,005
acres.

6. CATEGORIES OF FORESTS IN KPK
• Protected forests
These forests were inherited from the princely states of
Chitral, Dir and Swat. They have been declared to be state
property subject to the payment of royalty on timber sale
to the local right holders to the extent of 60 to 80%. Such
forests are situated in the districts of Chitral, Dir, Swat and
Kohistan (right side of the River Indus). The total area of
protected forests is 512,151 ha (1,265,013 acres).

7. CATEGORIES OF FORESTS IN KPK
• Plantation and trees on farmlands
They are in majority of the cases individual properties of
the farmers or the communities. These were estimated via
the survey carried out by the master plan so as to see the
contributions of this resource towards the timber and fuel
wood supply, the area is estimated to be 525,000 ha or
1,296,750 acres.

8. DEFORESTATION
• It is defined as the removal of the forests and its
replacement by another land use class e.g. shifting or
permanent agriculture, mining or water impoundments, or
the long term canopy cover to less then 10% .In some
cases deforestation may contribute to such severe land
degradation

9. EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION IN KPK
• With no trees to hold the soil together and slow down the
water flow. The surface run off may cause heavy floods.
• Cutting of trees disturbs the natural environment. The
natural habitat is destroyed which results in the extinction
of a number of valuable species and the wild life also gets
disturbed.
• With less vegetation there is less evapo-transpiration. The
climate changes, in particular there is less rainfall, which
may result in lower crop yields.

10. CAUSES / REASONS OF DEFORESTATION IN KPK
• Large forest tracks have to be removed to grow crops. In
order to construct dams and barrages.
• As urbanization increases, deforestation is caused to
urbanize the area. It is done to provide living facilities to
the migrating population from rural to urban areas.
Growth of cities converts forest areas into residential
colonies.

11. CAUSES / REASONS OF DEFORESTATION IN KPK
• The forest areas have to be cut down to make roads for
providing smooth and better transport facilities for
moving industrial and agricultural products to the market.
• Wood is consumed in large quantities in the industries
and is also used for construction.
• The rural population entirely depends on fuel, wood for
heating and cooling requirement. The trees have to be cut
down excessively to meet the demand of heating and
cooling,tional purposes.

12. • The latest estimates say that militancy has dealt severe
blows to the forest resources in Malakand. During 2007 to
2009, half of the forests were lost in this division. The total
loss, it is believed, was around Rs148 billion.
• A single guard had to cover an area of around 3,000
acres. There should be more armed guards and
scavengers for the forests. They should be provided
vehicles, proper equipment and modern communication
gadgets to quickly pass on information,
MAJOR CAUSES AND SOLUTION

13. MAJOR CAUSES AND SOLUTION
• Another issue is the allocation of meagre fund. The sector
was allocated just Rs223 million in the provincial annual
development plan of Rs51 billion in the current fiscal.
Surprisingly, only Rs1 million of the foreign funds of Rs6.6
billion will be spent on forest sector this year. Also, in the
comprehensive development strategy of Rs583 billion to
be followed by the Frontier government in next seven
years, not a single penny has been earmarked for the
forest sector.

14. MAJOR CAUSES AND SOLUTION
• According to Shahraz Khan, former forest minister,
corruption, deforestation, and smuggling of tim
• ber were the biggest threats the sector faced and these
should be minimised.
• He urged increase of forest guards as “it is not possible
on the part of the present 2,200 forest guards to cover the
province-wide forests.”
• “The federal government should lift ban on cutting of at
least mature, diseased and unhealthy trees from the
forests, and the SMWP should be restored,” said Khan.