Illegal logging and its impact on sustainable forest resource management
Illegal logging and its impact on sustainable forest resource management
Syed Said Badshah Bukhari and Ghulam Ali Bajwa
ABSTRACT
Forests are providing wood and wood products as well as ecological, social, religious and spiritual services. More than 11 million people are directly employed in forestry sector worldwide while over one billion poorest of the poor earn their livelihoods partially or fully from forests. Forest ecosystems sequester about 638 Giga ton carbons worldwide where Pakistan's share is about 0.05%. These silent friends of mankind, however, are diminishing at a rate of 13 million ha per annum worldwide, and contribution of illegal logging in it is about 27%. Apart from deforestation, the global timber trade illegalities and corrupt practices cause more than USD 10 billion losses in assets and revenues annually. In Pakistan, the deforestation rate of primary forest was 1.63% to 2.02% per annum between 1990 and 2005 despite official ban on harvesting of green trees during this period. The carbon stocks are depleting at a rate of approximately 1.78% due to burning of 31.6 million m3 fuelwood annually which is adding considerable amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The deforestation, mostly due to illegal logging, is affecting multiple uses of forest resources, and equity and fairness within and between generations. It is increasing poverty directly in forest dependent communities by depriving them from their livelihoods. A great number of species are facing extinction due to deforestation. Based on these findings it is suggested that sustainable forest resource management may be resumed to keep the forest ecosystems viable and their socio-economic services intact.
Key words: llegal logging, multiple uses, biodiversity, environment, livelihoods, sustainable forest management.
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March 2009
Vol. 59, Iss. 1
