PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday suspended forest harvesting and timber transportation until the completion of a thorough monitoring of the harvested forests.

Forestry officials told Dawn that the harvesting got under way a couple of months ago under the “scientific management of forests” programme to clear dead, dying, diseased or wind-felled trees from forests in the province.

They said separate teams had been formed to properly monitor harvested forests and timber transportation.

The officials said the forest harvesting was suspended after social media criticism.

Decides to check trees chopped down in last couple of months

“…all sorts of forest harvesting operations and timber transportation shall stand halted till the completion of already ongoing monitoring assigned to the forestry planning and monitoring circle with immediate effort till further order to safeguard forest protection and conservancy in the best public interest,” said a notification issued by the forest department.

The department took the decision after forestry minister Fazal Hakim Khan drew its attention to the people’s concerns expressed about it on social media.

“In response to the unrest among the general public regarding the harvesting of trees from designated forests and private woodlots under the approved working plans/other schemes, and the KP Disposal of Exploitable Trees of Private Woodlots Rules 2017, it is imperative that we address the concern raised by civil societies on social media,” read a letter written by the minister to the forest secretary.

The minister insisted that it was essential to gain public confidence by making them aware of the objectives of harvesting, which are carried out according to the principles of scientific forest management.

He added that all harvesting activities should be monitored to ensure correctness and transparency throughout the process and thus, preventing any irregularities.

The minister also ordered the formation of teams to monitor forest harvesting and suspend all harvesting operations and transportation until the completion of the monitoring of harvested forests.

“This action is taken in the best interest of the public as well as for forest protection and conservation,” he wrote in the letter.

The minister also directed the forest department to “complete the task transparently and ensure that all personnel involved are sensitised to the importance of this endeavour.”

The forestry and environment department began forest harvesting along scientific lines after the plan remained on the back burner for three decades.

Officials told Dawn that as the first task under the scientific forest management programmed, the department cleared the “dead, dying, diseased or wind-felled” trees from forests in the province.

They said usually, the department avoided removing such trees fearing that people would promote wrong impressions about the exercise.

The officials said some social media users showed the “legitimate felling of trees as the handiwork of timber mafia” and it was witnessed in the ongoing harvesting under scientific forest management.

They added that the working plan estimates showed that the annual commercial yield from the forests of Hazara and Malakand areas was 11.5 million cubic feet with the annual minimum price of Rs17 billion.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024