The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forestry, environment, and wildlife department has developed a 10-year strategy to reduce desertification and forest degradation. This strategy is part of the Pakistan National Reducing Emission from Desertification and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Action Plan that aims to increase benefits from sustainably managed and enhanced forest resources and mitigate climate change.
The strategy will address the issue of deforestation and provide suggestions for improving forest resources by introducing a policy environment for REDD+ implementation that includes a participatory monitoring system, benefit-sharing mechanism, and forest law enforcement. It will provide alternative incomes and livelihood opportunities, promote sustainable forest-based enterprises and vocational education, and forest-based payments from forest ecosystem services.
Deforestation is mainly caused by clearing forest land for agriculture, housing colonies, and settlement purposes. High demand for energy, construction timber and grazing, timber extraction for selling purposes and improperly managed tourism activities have been the main drivers of forest degradation in the province. The strategy will address the prioritised drivers and barriers within the context of specific actions to improve the health of the forest ecosystems by reducing forest degradation, enhancements of biomass, and defining effective implementation and monitoring of REDD+ actions. Furthermore, the integration of trees on private land has been emphasised to promote sustainable solutions to energy demands on forests.
Leave a Reply