The

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

sector of Pakistan is a main source of

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

fuelwood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

as well as food and provide

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

and

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

purposes. 4.91% of Pakistan's land is covered in forest.The

Shangla district Shangla District ( ps, شانګله ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarter is located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district ...

is the only district of Pakistan that composed of more than 80% of forest land

Statistics

The percentage of Pakistan's area that is forest is disputed. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates 2.2% of the total land of Pakistan is covered by forests. On the contrary, Pakistan Forest Institute estimates it to be 5.1%. According to the survey done under the Red Plus programme in 2017, the

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...

of Pakistan is 5.7%. According to survey under Red Plus programme, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir has the highest forest cover at 36.9%, followed by

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

(20.3%),

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

(22.6%) and

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

(19.5%). The World Wild Fund report that between 2000 and 2010 Pakistan has lost 43,000 hectares of land every year.

Types

*The coniferous forests occur from 1,000 to 4,000 m altitudes. Chitral, Swat,

Upper Dir Upper Dir District ( ps, بر دير ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The city of Dir is the district headquarters. Badogai Pass connects it to Utror. At the time of indepen ...

Lower Dir Lower Dir District ( ps, لر / کوز دير ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Timergara city is the district headquarter and largest city. The district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was d ...

, Malakand,

Mansehra Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province. The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Gojr ...

and Abbottabad districts of

, Azad Kashmir and Rawalpindi district of the

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, comprising a ...

are the main areas covered with coniferous forests. Pindrow Fir (''

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a large e ...

''), Morinda spruce (''

Picea smithiana ''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeas ...

''), deodar (''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

''), blue pine (''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

''), chir pine (''

Pinus roxburghii ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diameter ...

'') are the most common varieties. The Coniferous forests also occur in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

hills. Chilghoza pine (''

Pinus gerardiana ''Pinus gerardiana'', known as the chilgoza pine or ''neja'' is a pine native to the northwestern Himalayas in Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, Waziristan and northwestern India, growing at elevations between 1800 and 3350 metres. It often occur ...

'') and juniper ('' Juniperus macropoda'') are the two most common species of Balochistan. Swat0

*The sub-tropical dry forests are found in the

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...

, Rawalpindi,

, Jhelum and Gujrat districts of the Punjab, and in the Mansehra, Abbottabad,

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th centur ...

districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa up to a height of 1,000 m. In Balochistan, they are confined to the

Sulaiman Mountains The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān ( Balochi/Urdu/ fa, ; "Mountains of Solomon") or Da Kasē Ghrūna ( ps, د كسې غرونه; "Mountains of Kasi"), are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system i ...

and other hilly areas. Dominant tree species are phulai (''

Acacia modesta ''Senegalia modesta'' (commonly called phulai in Pakistan, phalāhī ਫਲਾਹੀ پھلاہی (Punjabi) in India) is a species of plant commonly found in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate ...

''), kau ('' Olea cuspidata'') and hopbush (''

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the '' Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, sout ...

''). *The tropical thorn forests are dominated by xerophytic shrubs. They are most widespread in the Punjab plains but also occupy small areas in southern Sindh and western Balochistan. They are mainly used for grazing purposes, watershed protection and fuelwood. Common species are vann ('' Salvadora oleoides''), khejri (''

Prosopis cineraria ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Sau ...

''), kair ('' Capparis aphylla''), etc. *The irrigated plantations were first developed in 1866 at Changa Manga in

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 ...

. Today they occupy about 226,000 ha. Sheesham (''

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 leav ...

''), mulberry/Shahtoot (''

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 ...

''), babul (''

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 ...

'') and 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 e ...

'' and '' Populus'' are the common tree species grown in the irrigated plantations. *The riparian forests grow in narrow belts along the banks of River Indus and its tributaries. They are more commonly found in Sindh and to some extent in the Punjab. Babul (''

''), Shisham (''

'') and '' Tamarax dioica'' are the most common species. Khejri (''

'') and ''

Populus euphratica ''Populus euphratica'', commonly known as the Euphrates poplar, desert poplar, diversiform-leaved poplar, or poplar diversifolia, is a species of poplar tree in the willow family. Description The Euphrates poplar is a medium-sized deciduous ...

'' are some other species. They are mainly used for lumber. *The mangrove wetlands are located in the Indus River Delta. Other saltwater wetlands are located on the coast of

such as at

Sonmiani Somiani ( ur, ) is a coastal town in the southeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan, approximately 145 kilometres northwest of Karachi. The coast of Sonmiani is the northernmost point of the Arabian Sea. The Sonmiani Beach is one of the most po ...

and

Jiwani Jiwani (Urdu, bal, ) is a town and commercial port that is located along the Gulf of Oman in the Gwadar District of the Balochistan province in Pakistan. The town is also next to the Iran-Pakistan border. The town has a total population of 25,00 ...

. These support

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

forestry, mainly of species ''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the interti ...

'' as well as

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

species and marsh grasses of '' Apluda'' and '' Cenchrus''.

Uses

The forests of Pakistan are a main source of

as well as human and animal food. Other minor products include

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

(a fluid in tissue of

Chir pine ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diameter ...

plant that becomes solid on exposure to the air) and 'mazri' (used for making baskets). The forests also provide for

and

purposes. Forests have also been planted in some areas like

Thal Desert The Thal desert (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximat ...

to avoid soil erosion and further desertification.

Riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

along the river Indus have been managed to avoid excess flooding.

Deforestation

According to the UN in 2011, Pakistan was the most heavily deforested country in Asia. The Federal Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued the deforestation sector at Rs.25,637 million in 2005, thus registering over 3% decline of forests in Pakistan since 2000. The main reasons of deforestation are

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

, and tourism development. This has led to severe consequences such as desertification,

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

and endangering of

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

. As a consequence to deforestation and changing land use patterns, the most critically affected ecosystems of Pakistan are: *Juniper forests of northern Baluchistan have been heavily harvested for timber and fuel wood. *Ecological changes in the Indus River

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

have drastically affected the riverine forests. Large tracts have been cleared for agriculture. *The

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n temperate forests are also under severe pressure from logging for timber and firewood, and from clearings for agriculture and human settlements.deforestation rate in Pakistan is increasing 0.2 to 0.5 percent annually

Conservation

The protected areas serve the purpose of conserving the forests and wildlife of Pakistan. National Conservation Strategy of 1993 was a major landmark of start of conservation of natural resources and wildlife in Pakistan. Resource-managed man-made forests like Changa Manga,

Kamalia Kamalia ( pa, , ur, ) is a city in the Toba Tek Singh District of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative center of Kamalia Tehsil. It is the 42nd largest city of Pakistan by population and has a lot more population compared to nearby c ...

plantation and Chichawatni plantation have also been planted to serve purpose and conserve forests. Through conservation, a large region of

Thal desert The Thal desert (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximat ...

has been afforested. ;Natural protected forests * Birir Valley Coniferous Forest in

Chitral District Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Div ...

(also called 'Deodar Chilghoza Oak Forest') * Jhangar Scrub Forest in Chakwal District * Sulaiman Coniferous Forest in

Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

(also called 'Sulaiman Chilgoza Pine Forest') * Ziarat Juniper Forest in

Ziarat District Ziarat ( ur, ) is a district in the north of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Ziarat town (situated at an altitude of about 2,400 meters) is headquarters of the district of the Sub division, and also of the tehsil. Khalifat Hills have the highe ...

;Artificial resource managed forests * Changa Manga Forest in Lahore District * Chichawatni Plantation in

Sahiwal District Sahiwal District ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery district, is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. In 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District, ...

* Khipro Reserve Forest in

Sanghar District Sanghar District ( sd, ضلعو سانگھڙ, ur, ) is one of the largest districts of Sindh province, Pakistan. This district lies between 25058'13 N latitudes and 69024'4E longitudes. It was a village before Mallah Tribe were settled there. Th ...

Organizations

Research institutions

* Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal,

* Government College University Faisalabad,

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

* Agricultural Research Institute,

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

* Punjab Forest School,

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

* Pakistan Forest Institute,

* University of Agriculture,

Sindh Agriculture University ) , latin_name = , image = Tandojam.JPG , caption = Sindh Agriculture University. , motto = Sustainable Agriculture for Food Security , established = March 1, 1977 , type = Public Sector Uni ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

* University of Agriculture,

* University of Haripur,

Haripur District Haripur District ( ps, هریپور ولسوالۍ, ur, "The Town of Hari") is a district in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The town of Haripur (meaning 'Hari's town') was founded in 1822 by Hari Singh Nalwa, the Co ...

* Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi * Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Forestry University of Swat,

Swat District Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pro ...

Punjab Forestry Research Institutes, Gatwala Faisalabad Punjab Wildlife Institutes Gatwala Faisalabad

Botanical gardens

Companies

References

External links

Environment Protection Agency, Pakistan
{{Pakistan topics Tourism in Pakistan Economy of Pakistan