LAND

Land degradation puts countless obstacles in the sustainable production capacity of the agriculture sector. Wind and water erosion, waterlogging and salinity, deforestation and desertification all accelerate the degradation process. 

Deforestation

"The world is green and beautiful and God has appointed you his stewards over it. He sees how you acquit yourselves " (Muslim) 

Forests, scrub and planted trees on farmland constitute about 4.2 million hectares (4.8%) of the country (Forest Sector Master Plan GOP 1992 from Environmental Profile of Pakistan 1998). The majority (40%) of the forests are either coniferous or scrub. Irrigated plantations and riverine & coastal forests make up the rest. 1.78 million hectares is covered by hill forests which include species such as deodar, fir, blue pine, spruce, juniper, chir pine, oak and horse chestnut (The Nature of Pakistan). These forests grow in the watershed areas protecting the fragile mountain ecosystem and helping abate floods and droughts. They are a major source of timber, fuelwood and resin and this, coupled with the increasing grazing requirements is posing a major threat. 

The foothill forests (comprising acacia and kau) are also subjected to over-grazing. Shisham and mulberry (in Punjab) and babul and eucalyptus (in Sindh) make up the man-made irrigated forests and are mainly used for fuelwood and timber for the furniture and sports-goods industries. 

Although different figures suggest that the per capita use of timber is the lowest in the world, the declining rate of woody biomass is the second highest in the world. Two studies have shown that it is between 4%-6% per year (GOP 1992, Hosier 1993 from Biodiversity Action Plan). Almost 7,000 to 9,000 hectares are deforested every year and this rate is especially severe in the north where the per capita consumption for fuelwood is 10 times higher due to the severe winter. The following factors are the main causes of deforestation. 

Fuelwood

According to the two studies, consumption for household firewood exceeds production in all provinces except the Northern Areas, which are sparsely populated. Due to the increase in population, consumption would probably go up to 3% per year. Pakistan's woody biomass may be totally consumed within the next 10-15 years. 

Timber

Another adverse factor is the lopping of trees for commercial purposes. Pakistan has a thriving timber market and many a time; illegal logging takes place to support the market and to make a fast buck. The high price of timber has greatly accelerated forest depletion. 

The timber business goes back to colonial times. After partition when the princely states such as Chitral, Dir, and Swat were abolished, the change in rule created a vacuum in the management of the forests. This accelerated the depletion of the reserves. The state had the legal ownership of the forests, however, it disregarded the needs of the local people. While under princely rule, the emphasis of forest management was on supporting the local economy, now it shifted to being a revenue-generating source for the government. Investment in forest conservation was inconsequential as compared to their harvest. 

Livestock grazing

Unrestricted livestock grazing is also a severe threat. Trees have always been chopped down to allow grass to grow, in order to feed livestock. In some cases forests are set on fire for this purpose also and the rate has gone beyond sustainability in many areas. In addition forests are also cleared for agriculture. 

Regional case studies also portray a dismal picture. A study of the Siran project area (Hazara, NWFP), shows a 52% decline in the resource between 1967 and 1992. If this continues at the present pace, the Siran forests will disappear by the year 2005 (Archer 1996). Similar cases are present in the Kaghan Valley and Allai Valley. Plantation survival rates are well below the 75 % target set by the Household Energy Strategy Study (HESS). 

There is a similar trend present in the mangrove forests of the Indus Delta, which has halved from 2,600 square kilometres in the late 1970s to 1,300 in the 1990s. The depletion is mainly due to the grazing by camels (16,000) owned by the local communities and consumption as fuelwood. 

The scrub forest is mainly consumed for grazing, especially in the winter, and reduced water allocation is adversely affecting riverine forests. 50% of the original riverine forests have been degenerated beyond economic viability. 

More than half of the remaining mangroves forests, more than two-thirds of riverain forests and more than nine -tenths of remaining coniferous forests have less than 50% cover

These are government figures and discrepancy is usually found in government and actual figures as the government defines figures according to legal rather than biological criteria. 

Desertification

Desertification is a process that turns productive land into non-productive desert. It occurs mainly in semi-arid areas (mean rainfall less than 600 mm) bordering on deserts. The arid and semi-arid rangelands in Pakistan show signs of being strained. The threat of overgrazing, over-harvesting and overstocking of the natural vegetation is aggravating the situation. The change in grazing practices has virtually reduced some areas in the Cholistan desert to sand dunes. According to one estimate more than 60% of the natural grazing areas of the country have production levels lower than one third of their biological potential. More than one-third of the country has been classified as under risk of desertification (45 million hectares). Deforestation, over cultivation, excessive cutting of fuelwood and incorrect irrigation practices all have a share in this problem. 

Soil Erosion

Around 15.9 million hectares of land (18% of total) affected by soil erosion. Out of this, 11,172,000 hectares affected by water erosion, while 4760,000 hectares affected by wind erosion. 

Soil erosion is taking place at an alarming rate and is mainly due to deforestation in the north. Water erosion is prominent on steep slopes such as the Potohar track and surrounding areas, an area extensively used for cultivation. Water erosion and poor land management is also affecting watersheds in the upper Indus River and its tributaries. The highest recorded rate of erosion is in the Indus catchment between the Tarbela reservoir and 90 - km upstream where soil loss is estimated to be 150-165 tonnes/hectare/year. Overall, 28% of soil is being lost to water. 14% of the storage capacity of Tarbela was lost within 10 years of being completed. The Indus River carried the fifth largest load of sediment (4.49t/h) in the world in 1990. According to some estimates the Indus is adding 500,000 tonnes of sediment to the Tarbela Reservoir every day, reducing the life of the dam by 22% and the capacity of reservoir by 16%. 

Wind erosion has a relatively lower impact than water erosion. However, the combination of the two is more devastating. This reduces the productivity of the land by 1.5-7.5% per year. This affects almost one-fifth of the Punjab. 

Waterlogging and Salinity

These problems usually occur together and are a result of intensive and continuous use of surface irrigation. Some experts consider them more important than soil erosion because they occur in the most productive areas of the Indus Basin. More than 2 million hectares of land is waterlogged (JRC 1989d), and the inefficient historical planning of the irrigation system is the culprit. It is 100 years old with unlined canals, resulting in the seepage of water into the topsoil,. Salinity usually follows. When the water evaporates the salts are left behind and the area becomes unfit for agriculture. In over 25% of the Indus basin the water table has risen to 2 m of the soil surface, resulting inn 40,000 hectares of land being lost annually to both these problems. In some areas it has gone up to I m. Over 5.7 million hectares of land are salt affected and 2.4 million hectares is highly saline according to the Soil Survey of Pakistan. The soil of 13.6 million hectares within the Gross Command Area was surveyed, which revealed that 3.1 million hectares (23%) was saline. 23% of this was in Sindh and 13% in the Punjab. 

Waterlogging and salinity pose serious threats to the primarily agricultural economy and may also affect the remaining forests in the basin. In any case, the increase in this problem could mean the clearing up of the adjacent forests to make room for more agricultural land. 

Because of the gravity of the situation, measures have been taken to rectify this problem as a result of which a large area of land has been reclaimed through the Salinity Control and Reclamation Programmes

Area of the Forest

(Forest Sector Master Plan GOP 1992)  

Land Degradation Process

(Mian and Mirza 1993)