The unchecked depletion of peatlands for the last four to five decades in different valleys of Chitral has been going unnoticed as a potential factor of climate change leading to an imminent colossal damage to the already fragile ecosystem.

Chitral is said to have many large chunks of peatlands spreading over about 5,000 hectares forming 20 per cent of the total area of peatlands in the country. Chitral is also credited to be one of the few areas containing this most precious ecosystem which is considered as the major store of terrestrial carbon.

Peatlands are wetlands with a thick layer of partially decayed vegetation and organic soil while the completion of the process takes almost 100 years.

Though peatlands constitute three per cent of the earth’s surface, they store 30 per cent of the world’s soil carbon and when peatland is drained it becomes the net source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thereby acting as a catalyst of climate change.

Explaining the importance of peatlands in environmental equilibrium, Hameed Ahmed, an environmentalist attached with an international organisation, said that the destruction of one hectare of wetland brought destruction in environment equivalent to the magnitude of destruction wrought by dense forest spreading over 300 hactares.

Chitral being a vast area of about 15,000 square kilometres is home to as many as 542 glaciers of which 10 have been declared as hypersensitive and on the verge of outburst due to the emission of greenhouse gases as a result of depletion of peatlands. Climate change specialists fear that the ever-reducing peatlands can accelerate the process and bring disaster sooner than later.

Apart from 3,000 plus acres of peatlands of Baroghil, peatlands are found in Sha Junali (1,300 hactares), Gobor and Karimabad (900 hactares each), Laspur (1,000 hactares) Golen (700 hactares), Terich Ann (400 hactares), Melp (300 hactares), Madak Lusht (320 hactares) and Chitral Gol (250 hactares). As per study of Pakistan Wetland Programme (PWP) conducted in Chitral in 2010, only in Baroghil area in north of the district, over 75 per cent of peatlands have undergone total depletion.

A major reason for depletion of peatlands in all the localities is the tremendous pressure exerted by the local people who use them for fuel purposes as peats are highly combustible whose blocks are made and dried up in summer to be used throughout the year for cooking and heating purposes.

As per survey of PWP in Baroghil area, the use of peats is 200kg to 300kg per household during winter season which falls slightly during summer as it accounts for 75 per cent of fuel requirements. Unaware of the significance of peatlands, some of the government departments and the management of an NGO inflicted a big loss on the peatland of Baroghil last year by their ill-planning while constructing a road.

The road passed right through the centre of a peatland which has started depleting and as a result water supply to the downstream part below the road has stopped.

Hameed Ahmed said that the depletion of wetland in Baroghil area also meant loss of habitat of migratory birds and many species of local birds which used the peatland as safe haven for breeding.

Amin Jan, the village nazim of Baroghil, said that the use of peats as a source of fuel could be stopped only if alternative sources were provided to the people free of cost or at cheaper rate.

He said that with the depletion of peatland the population of yaks was also on decline which was the major source of their sustenance as the local residents did not consume meat and milk of the animal, but they earned cash by selling it in the market to meet the daily necessities of life.

The drainage of peatlands to convert them into agricultural land is yet another cause of their depletion which is in practice in the valleys other than Baroghil. In Golen and some other valleys, peatland was converted into a farmland to grow potato as the soil was productive for the commodity.

The climate change specialists are apprehensive about the situation in Baroghil area which is home to Chiantar glacier, the largest one in Hindukush belt and containing the largest peatland.

Fazle Haq, a local environmentalist, said that the GHG emitted due to depletion of peatland at a high rate could spell disaster in Baroghil area because of its proximity to Chiantar glacier, which was the main source of Chitral River, known as Kabul River in the plains of Peshawar. He emphasised the need for preserving the peatlands keeping in view the importance of their presence in the area which provided vital ecosystem by regulating water flows and minimising the risk of flooding and drought.

Mr Haq says that being a signatory to the Ramsar Convention of 1971, Pakistan was bound to conserve, protect and restore peatlands to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. He said it took 100 years for the peats to grow again which made it inevitable to timely salvage the treasure of peats.

Divisional forest officer of Chitral forest division Shaukat Fiaz said that in Baroghil summer season was brief due to which no trees could be grown and the only source of fuel at their disposal was peats and shrubs grown on the peatlands.

To bring a halt to the process of burning peats, the local people must be provided with alternative sources in the form of natural gas cylinders, solar power systems and hydroelectric power by exploiting the potential of hydropower generation.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2019