The Changa Manga (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

: ) is a planted forest which includes a

wildlife preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, in the

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasur ...

and Lahore districts of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprisin ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. It is located approximately 80 kilometers south-west of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. It was once the largest man-made forest in the world but has undergone illegal

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

at a massive scale in recent times. Changa Manga is known more widely as "one of the oldest hand-planted forests in the world", and hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna. The forest is home to 14 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, six species of reptiles, two species of amphibians and 27 species of insects. Thus, other than producing timber for the local industry, the forest also serves as an important wildlife reserve. Named after two brother dacoits, the Changa Manga forest was originally planted in 1866 by British foresters. Its trees were harvested to gather fuel and resources for the engines employed in the North-Western railway networks.

Onomatology Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
of name

The name of the forest is derived from an amalgamation of the names of two brother

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for " banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqu ...

s (bandits), Changa and Manga. The dacoits were a constant source of terror for the "law-abiding citizens" of the districts in the 19th century as they would "hold up and plunder" any passing trader. The robbers had a den in the "secret heart" of the forest where they sought shelter from the British peacekeepers. The robbers were eventually captured by the police and became the inspiration for the name of the forest site. Soon afterwards,

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

opened up a camp at the forest site as a place for reformation of criminals.

Location

The Changa Manga forest can be entered from a road off the N-5 Highway near Bhai Pheru and

Chunian Chunian ( ur, ), is a historic city and the capital of Chunian Tehsil of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located at 30° 58' N 73° 51' E and at an elevation of 177 metres (583 feet), and lies about 70 km south of Lahore the Punjab capital. ...

. At present, the forest covers an area of . It was once the largest man-made forest in the world but massive deforestation has reduced it to less than half its original size. It is also known as "one of the oldest hand-planted forests in the world". The

forest plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

dates back to 1866 and was planned to fill the need for timber and fuel resources for the North-Western railway networks. The most common species of flora are ''

Dalbergia sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery le ...

'' (Sheesham) and ''

Acacia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the M ...

'' (Kikar), both members of the

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

and native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

. ''

Morus alba ''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although ...

'' (white mulberry) was also introduced to the plantation and became popular in cultivation throughout South Asia. The forest also has several species of ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as eucal ...

'' and ''

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

''.

History

Allocation of land

Dug trenches for forest plantation after slash has been burnt

In 1864, the North-Western Railway found itself starved of resources, vital in running services on its network. It was then that Dr John Lindsay Stewart, the first Conservator of Forests of Punjab, recommended the allocation of a block of land for each railway district where forest plantations should be cultivated to cater for such growing demands. Such a block of land was allocated for the

Kasur district Kasur District ( Punjabi and ur, , translit=Zilā Qasūr), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab, Pakistan. It came into existence on 1 July 1976. Prior to its creation, it was a tehsil of the Lahore District. The district capit ...

at the Chunian tehsil on the Lahore-Karachi railway line. This land was allocated on the assumption that 4850 cubic feet per acre of mature crop on a 15-year rotation would adequately suffice the five trains running daily on these lines, consuming of fuel per train. This particular area of land was a semi-desert scrub jungle with thorn forest land and a light alluvial soil that only required the introduction of water to yield crops. The land was mostly populated by the Gondhal and Sansi gypsies, whom British called ''"junglies"'' (a derogatory term meaning 'jungle-dwelling barbarians'). The British replaced the population of the Gondhals and Sansis with an influx of cultivators from older cultivated lands and other provinces. In preparation for cultivation, the land was slashed and burnt to rid the landscape of thorn forest and dry scrub growth. The unruly scrubs of the dry jungles were gradually turned into plains ready for irrigation.

Initial plantation

Within the premises of the allocated land, the German forester Berthold Ribbentrop, Inspector General of Forests in British India, identified a dry forest area where long rooted bar trees could exist. He planned to cultivate the land with the plantation of ''

'' (white mulberry) and ''

'' (sheesham). The plantation of the forest began in 1866 but failed to obtain substantial harvest from the initial wooded area of . In 1868, Charles Frederick Amery, an officer in the Indian Forestry Commission, had an idea of employing a trench and ridge system. Ribbentrop adopted the system making the plantation a "sylvicultural and financial success". The plantation reaped its first successful harvest in 1888 from a second crop rotation. The site was soon identified as a sustainable source for timber, primarily serving the North-Western railway network.

Railway and logistics

By 1870, the irrigated plantation had grown to and was served by the primary railway station for the Chunian tehsil on the Lahore-Karachi railway line. To benefit logistics for logging operations, it was decided to build a railway station at Changa Manga. A special gauge railway, called the Changa Manga Forestry Railway, was established for narrow gauge logging operations. The railway employed the use of wood-burning steam locomotives built by John Fowler & Co., of Leeds. When burning wood from an engine set fire to a van and buggy, the locomotives were upgraded to coal-powered types. Even with such incidents, the demand for wood from Changa Manga remained steady as its supply base grew across the timber market in India. The railway is still operational today and is only used to either transport timber or haul tourists on special occasions. Amongst the three engines, operational to date, are two from John Fowler & Co. and one from Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. of Kilmarnock,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Great Indian Famine of 1876–78

The years 1876–78 saw intense drought sweep across much of India, and in particular the

Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

. The famine was a result of crop failures throughout the plateau. The failure to provide food to the millions of hungry countrymen during the famine was blamed primarily on the absence of adequate rail infrastructure and thus the British administration sought to expand its rail infrastructure. Though some parts of Punjab were also affected by the famine, firewood from Changa Manga grew in demand to supply the growing network of rail infrastructure.

Salvation Army Silk Camp

The early 1800s saw many Indian traders invest in the silk trade. Most of the silk in India came from silkworms cultivated at

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

near

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. However, businessmen deemed the Delhi silk as "lacking lustre" and they ventured into silk experiments elsewhere across the country. One such silk experiment was conducted by Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers an ...

at Changa Manga in 1912. It came to be known as the Salvation Army Silk Camp. Booth-Tucker brought along hundred ounces of silkworm eggs (about 3 million eggs) from France. To house the worms, he created long sheds from bamboo and dried grass. The worms' feed consisted entirely of mulberry leaves obtained from felled trees in the forest. The worms fed on 70

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are disting ...

s of leaves a day. In 1916, the Governor of Punjab Sir Michael O'Dwyer visited the silk experiment where the silkworms had started developing cocoons. The governor left pleased with Booth-Tucker's work. The Salvation Army Silk Camp remained a sustainable venture for a year after the governor's visit, although changes to the climate later led to its decline.

Wildlife conservation and breeding

The forest serves as a conservation and breeding centre for the critically endangered species of Asiatic vultures, ''

Gyps bengalensis The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures d ...

'' (white-rumped vultures). It hosts a conservation centre in association with WWF SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction) programme, an international effort across India, Nepal and Pakistan. The Asiatic vulture species of ''G. bengalensis'' and '' G. indicus'' have reportedly seen a decline by "more than 90 per cent in Pakistan, India and Nepal", thereby making the conservation efforts at Changa Manga extremely crucial for the survival of these vulture species.

Gyps Vulture Conservation Centre

There is a Vulture Conservation Centre in a secluded area of the Changa Manga forest. The centre has been specifically designed to manage the population of G. bengalensis. The centre operates the ''Gyps Vulture Restoration Programme'' under the management of WWF Pakistan and the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department, with aid of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Hawk Conservancy Trust and WWF USA. The vulture conservation programme was first realised in 2004 and this dedicated conservation centre became fully operational in 2007. The centre holds up to fifteen ''G. benalgensis'' in its communal

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as fligh ...

, but has a capacity to hold 30 vultures in its four separate breeding aviaries. The communal aviary is 38m long and increases in width from 14m to 27.5m. The aviary contains live tree perches with roosting and nesting ledges, which also provides shade and shelter for birds.

Wildlife reserve

Changa Manga also has a

wildlife reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

that covers an area of , built in 2008. The reserve is home to species of

hog deer ''Axis'' is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Elde ...

Indian peafowl The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sc ...

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

. The Changa Manga wildlife preserve is one of the three wildlife parks located in the Lahore Division, other two being

Jallo Wildlife Park Jallo Park is a national park of Pakistan located in Lahore, Punjab. Its area covers and is one of the three main parks of Lahore along with Changa Manga and Lahore Zoo Safari. Facilities at Jallo Park include a Forest Research Centre, Wild ...

and Lahore Zoo Safari.

Recreation

Parts of the forest have now been developed into a recreation park with a railroad that gives the visitor a ride on a miniature train through the forest. Other attractions include a water turbine, a waterfall, a children's play area, and a lake called 'Lunar Lake', where boating is possible. Changa Manga Tourist Resort is situated from Lahore city. The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) arranges picnic trips to Changa Manga throughout the year.

Deforestation

The world's largest artificial forest is being heavily logged, and so far more than 60 percent of Changa Manga Wildlife Park has been deforested.

Revival of Changa Manga Forest

On 11 November 2011, Khan Waqas A. Khan broke the story of rapid deforestation in Changa Mhanga Forest and exposed how unbridled wood mafia with the forest officials are rapidly deforesting the world's largest man-made forest. The Chief

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, Punjabi, Javed Mehboob took a ''

suo moto In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its or their own accord") or ''suo motu'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken wi ...

'' notice to probe the case and report accordingly. A series of news stories were then filed by Khan until 24 June 2012, when CM Punjab Mian Muhammad

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president o ...

, taking notice of the situation, ordered the removal of Chief Conservator (Forest) Dr Mehboobur Rehman and Conservator (Forest) Rao Khalid from their posts and making them OSD. The chief minister also ordered the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment DG and the CM Inspection Team (CMIT) chairman to carry out a joint investigation into the deforestation by timber mafia and ferret out facts about their possible links with the forest authorities. The CM also ordered to begin from terrorist Pakista
investigation
into the issue from 1990 onward. The team had been directed to investigate all the DFOs, posted at Changa Manga since 1990. Similarly the team had been directed to investigates all SDOYs, Block Officers and Forest Guards who have been working there since then and the culprits were then arrested and reported to police. Howevers, all of them got bail from the courts, were evicted from charges or received minor penalties. The Ombudsman issued a detailed report on the case affixing para wise responsibilities on those who were responsible for the worst affairs and CMIT proceeded for criminalized proceedings for the sake, but everything went under they blanket and now almost all of the accused are workington on the similar posts as ADHOC. The pulpits was to appoint them on these same posts as contract/daily wage/ ad hoc employees while they are still OSD, dismissed form service unofficially. Apart from this, howeve
serious efforts the government somehow started
to bring back Changa Manga to the listed of worlds 's largest artificially forests. Change Manganese Forester was then safely be termed as back to track. Water scarcity was the first reason of plant disease and failure. The forest administration negotiated with the irritating department and took fullest sanctioned discharge of 113 cusecs for the forest for all seasons. This step alone brought very positive results and the forest grew greenhouse again. Illegal animals were another source of forest destruction. There were mafias that used to use this Forester as the grazing safari and hence all new plantation failed because of abundant illegal grazing. 864 Animals in this period were ejected from the forest on self-help basis as legislation for the same is still pending although a summary has been approved by the CM in this regard already. To tackle the political and social mafias, the current administration kept a close liaison with the Chunian Cantt authorities who deployed army patrolling teams in the forest to help forest staff control the damage, illicit grazing and snubbing of notoriously habitual offenders. Two row boundary planting of large sized plants along the 39 km foundry of the plantation including improvement of boundary road for patrolling has been completed. Barbed wire fencing of 30 km along with the RCC posts on the boundary of the forest to check illegal movement has been completed. Planting of 9 km large sized fundamental plants along tram line for aesthetic view of the visitors has been completed. Construction of main gates on the boundary of plantation to stop illegal movement has been completed. Reconstruction of boundary wall with iron grill around forest park to secure 5000 Rft park area and 7050 Rft on the Wankhara side has been completed as well . Additionally, afforestation of new plants were done in 1500 acre blank area. It is pertinent to mention that an additional 4000 acres is still pending afforestation that is respected to be started by next year. However, 150000 poplar plants have been recently planted on the road sides to give the forest a better look. In the same period 52 FIRs have been registered, however most of them are still pending investigation as the accused are, either themselves or family members of, prominent political figures of area including Ch Mehmood Anwar and Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan blending to ruling party of Punjab. Changa Manga has long been waiting for all this. Now when things are back on track; it shall be expected that the authorities will not turn a blind eye towards affairs and will help forest administration in preventing culprits from further destroying the forest. Similarly, it is also recommended that encouragement rewards may be given to the current administration for doing honest efforts to save the forest. According to Forest Department officials in April 2020, honey sales from Changa Manga wildlife preserve increased from Rs. 729,000 in the 2016-17 financial year to Rs. 1.3 million in the 2019-2020 financial year. This is asserted to be due to increased honeybee presence at the preserve as a result of Billion Tree Project afforestation efforts and decreased use of pesticides and industrial fertilizers in the vicinity of the region.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Pakistanpaedia – Changa Manga

{{Portal bar, Punjab, Pakistan, Environment, Ecology, Earth sciences, Biology Forests of Pakistan Kasur District Wildlife sanctuaries in Punjab, Pakistan Wildlife sanctuaries of Pakistan Protected areas of Punjab, Pakistan

Onomatology Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ... of name

Location

History

Allocation of land

Initial plantation

Railway and logistics

Great Indian Famine of 1876–78

Salvation Army Silk Camp

Wildlife conservation and breeding

Gyps Vulture Conservation Centre

Wildlife reserve

Recreation

Deforestation

Revival of Changa Manga Forest

See also

References

References

External links

Onomatology Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
of name