GIANT DEFORESTATION LEADS TO DRASTIC ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATING EFFECTS SINCE 2000; A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN - N. Faiza; J. Weiguo; Y. Aijun; S. Wenxing (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2017)
This article draws attention to the problem of deforestation and systematically identifying its root causes, by incorporating the point of view of all stakeholders, forestry sector experts and policy makers from the Federal, provincial and local level. It provides a brief overview of the perspectives of different stakeholders in the forests and the degradation of forests in the country. The main causes of deforestation are growing demographic pressure, poor management of natural forests, rural and urban communities’ household dependency on fuelwood, unscientific pastures beyond capacity, forest fires and storms, the lack of financial inputs and the lack of participation of stakeholders in the policy process. Due to poor governance and inappropriate policies, the forests decline since 2000 has led to negative impacts on the environment. Among the other devastating effects soil erosion and flooding are the main after effects of deforestation in the country. The analysis shows that irrespective of their interests, the participation of all stakeholders in the process of policy making should go a long way to arrest a sharp forest decline in Pakistan.
Keywords: journal article; causes of deforestation; diverse stakeholders’ perspectives; giant deforestation; Pakistan forestry