KARACHI: Mangrove trees, the first line of defence against storms on the coast, were being chopped down by thieves referred to as ‘timber mafia’ by fishermen and in this connection five boats full of chopped trees were dumped at Loonh Khan, a beach off Ibrahim Hyderi, as the thieves bringing it in escaped upon being spotted during a forest department and police raid in the early hours of Tuesday, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum officials said.

“The thieves go about their work very quietly. They bring the chopped trees to the shore by boats and from here they load them on big trucks to transport them to the city where they have buyers ready. They are so stealthy that they don’t even switch on their truck lights. But thanks to an informer we were ready for them this time,” said Kamal Shah of the PFF.

Know more: Karachi's mangroves, defence against storms and tsunamis, threatened

The PFF activists informed the forest department who in turn called the police. Sensing danger, the men on the trucks never showed up to load the wood, which was then taken into custody by the forest department.

“The timber mafia resides among us in Ibrahim Hyderi though they belong to a community of Thatta. Around Karachi they are known for cutting down mangrove trees in Rehri Goth Chashma Goth, etc. They started attacking the mangroves around Marina Club. Apparently it would look that a thick mangrove forest is there and we are just crying wolf, but if you go inside these forests you’ll notice that they are hollow. These people are very smart. They leave the trees bordering the forest and chop down the trees from inside reducing their density,” Kamal Shah added.

“They chop down about Rs200,000 to Rs400,000 worth of wood each day. The wood is used in making furniture. They are making millions every month while playing havoc with nature and biodiversity,” he added.

PFF chairman Mohammad Ali Shah said that Karachi could be destroyed by tsunamis if mangroves were not protected.

“Apart from the timber mafia cutting down mangrove forests, there is also a land mafia at work which is reclaiming land from the sea, something for which the citizens may have to pay with their lives in case of a natural disaster here,” he said.

At Loonh Khan, range forest officer Azizullah Rajper was busy supervising the loading of the wood on their two trucks. “Well, thanks to the PFF cooperation, we sacred them (thieves) off this time but the damage is done already. The trees are cut. And they will still keep at it.

“It is a big coastline and pretty much impossible to predict where they will strike next time. One day they are here, another they are doing the same thing miles away. We try our best to keep an eye on them but we have our limitations. We don’t have the manpower or the resources. And they are always a step ahead of us. We need speedboats. Right now we don’t even have plain boats,” the forest officer lamented.

It was said that the police had arrested three men from the site, who were later released after intervention by some influential individuals of the area.

Published in Dawn February 25th , 2015

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