THE ACTIVE ROLE OF FORESTRY IN VARIOUS SECTORS, AND ITS FUTURE PLANNING IN SINDH-PAKISTAN.

THE ACTIVE ROLE OF FORESTRY IN VARIOUS SECTORS, AND ITS FUTURE PLANNING IN SINDH-PAKISTAN.

Abstract.

The province of Sindh lying between 23° 40” to 28° 38’N and 66° 40’ to 71° 30’E. The region have subtropical climate receiving between 100-550 chill units and 3700-4500 heat units. Annual mean evaporation is 79 inches, 9.72 daily sunshine hours, 7.1 inch rainfall, maximum temperature is 93.37°F, minimum temperature 67.56°F, mean temperature is 78.41°F, relative humidity is 57.50 and Dew point is 58.33°F. The Sindh soil is silty-loam, is extremely suitable for forestry and agro-forestry and its industry.

In Sindh 345 hectare are under coastal forest, which is consist of mangroves, while the second major forest area 241 hectares comes under riverain forest. In the riverain area, when this land becomes flooded, then the moisture in the soil remain for some times, which provide feed the roots of forest. This water also helps in spreading the seeds to the far areas, this way forest covers to many hectares of lands but the drawback we have that our forest area is very thinly populated, while with little effort we can change the shape of forest in our areas and convert this land in to a thick forest and not only earn money but provide clean and suitable land in the universe.

Introduction.

 In the year 1999-00, the agriculture sector in Sindh was 167,584 million, in which forestry share in Sindh was 456 million. Percent share of forestry in agriculture in Sindh was 0.27%. Percent share of forestry in GDP in Sindh was 0.07%.

 Total area of forests and range lands under the control of forest department in Sindh for the year 1999-00 was 1,048 hectares in which: The area under reserved forests was 292 hectares. The area under protected forests was 726 hectares. The area under un-classified forests was 25 hectares. The area under resumed land was 5 hectares.

 In year 1990-00 Sindh the total 678 hectares were under the control of forest department, which have following types of vegetation. One hectare was under coniferous forest, 81 hectare under irrigated plantation; 241 hectare under riverain forest; 10% under scrub forest, while 345 hectares were under coastal forest.

 In the year 1997-98, the area under afforestation in Sindh was 2.8 hectares while 11.5 hectares was under Regeneration process.

 In 1999-00, the 868,000 cubic meters was the major forest products of Pakistan, out of which 425,000 cubic meter was Timber and 443,000 cubic meters was firewood.

 4-7 kg/ha of nitrogen, 0.3-0.6 kg/ha of phosphorus and 1-5 kg/ha of potassium, 3-9 kg/ha of calcium is required to produce one ton of forest, in Sindh.
 In Sindh the woods are cut for fuel and building material, cleared for agriculture and subject in attrition from grazing domestic animals. This resulted into deforestation, which effects are explain as under:

Effect of deforestation.

 Pole-ward relocation of populations barred by deforested area.

 Transfer of carbon stocks from vegetation to atmosphere, increasing greenhouse effect.

 Altered flux to atmosphere of greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide from deforested areas.

 Decreased transpiration and altered albedo, contributing to climatic change.

 Increased pressure on forested land for agriculture use.

 Severe erosion in the land.

 Loss of wildlife habitat.

In Sindh forest plants are used for the collection of gum, resin and essential oil, these are also used to control sodicity and soil salinity, also play a great role in timber and non-timber forest products are explain as under:

The plant used for gum, resins and essential oils.

The plans used as gum.

 Acacia senegal.
 Acacia albida.
 Acacia dudgeoni.
 Acacia farnesiana.
 Acacia hockii.
 Acacia polycautha.
 Acacia nilotica.
 Albizia zygia.
 Albizia adianthifolia.
 Anogeisus leiocarpus.
 Burkea africana.
 Balanites aegyptica.
 Combretum nigricans.
 Colagigantea.
 Dialium guineensis.
 Diospyrus mespiliformis.
 Entada africana.
 Entando fragma spp.
 Hidegardia barteri.
 Piptademiasturm africanum.
 Spondias setigera.
 Stercula tragalcantha
 Stercula adianthifolia.

Tree exudsates.

 Acacia -------------------------gum aratic.
 Astragalus ---------------------gum tragacanth.
 Sterculia urens----------------- gum Karaya.
 Anogeissus latifolia------------ gum ghatti.

Plant extracts.

 Peel of various fruit .---------- Pectin.

Seed and root gums.

 Cyamopsis teragonoloba.----------Guargum.
 Ceratonia siliqua.-------------------Carob bean gum.
 Cesalpina spinosa-------------------Tara gum.
 Amorphosphallus Konjac.----------Konjac mannan.

The plants used as Resins.

 Allanblackia parviflora.
 Amphimas peterocarpoidas.
 Berlinia grandiflora.
 Copaifera salikounda.
 Carpapa procera.
 Ceiba pentandra.
 Daniellie thurifera.
 Garcinia Kola.
 Nauclea latifolia.
 Pseudospondias microcarpa.
 Pterocarpus ernaceus.
 Tetraplaura tetraptera.
 Zanthoxylum Xanthoxyloides.


Essential oils.

 Ocimum gratissimum.
 Piper guineensis.

Tolerance of forest species to soil sodicity and salinity plant used to:

Control soil sodicity.

 Acacia nilotica.
 Acacia auriculae formis.
 Azadirachta Indica.
 Albizia procera.
 Albizia lebbek.
 Ailanthus excelsa.
 Butea monosperma.
 Capparis decidua.
 Capparis horrida.
 Casuarina equisetifolia.
 Dalbergia sissoo.
 Leucaena leucocephala.
 Prosopis juliflora.
 Pongamia pinnata.
 Phyllanthus emblica.
 Populus deltoides.
 Syzgium cuminii.
 Terminalia arjuna.
 Tamarindus indica.

Plants used to control soil salinity.

 Avicennia maritina.
 Atriplex species.
 Acacia nilotica.
 Acacia tortilis.
 Azadirachta Indica.
 Acacia auriculaeformis.
 Albizzia lebbek.
 Casuarina equisetifolia.
 Cassia siamea.
 Dalbergia sissoo.
 Eucalyptus camaldulensis.
 Eucalyptus tereticornis.
 Leucaena leucocephala.
 Prosopis juliflora.
 Parkinsonia aculeata.
 Pongamia pinnata.
 Rhizophora species.
 Salvadora persica.
 Salvadora Oleoides.
 Tamarix articuta.

Role of woody species, timber and non-timber forest products.

 Dry timber for wood fuel and charcoal.

 Building timber for house fencing and thatching.

 Food for livestock particularly in the dry season.

 Wild food and fruits for the people.

 Use of gums, resins for food, medicinal and cultural uses as well as for trade.

 Veterinary medicines for a variety of livestock diseases.

 Human medicines for a variety of diseases.

 Making of household utensils.

 Act as purifier for CO2 and soil erosion control.

 It helps to reduce green house gases.

 It used as ethno-medicine human, fodder, food, fuel wood, craft and many other purposes.

 Environment protection, fertility, erosion and wind break.

 Fodder and fuel wood purposes.

 In many places secondary forest becomes a desirable habitat for suburban houses.

 Forest provide habitats for many kind of organisms, not only of species of vegetation but also of animals, fungi, and bacteria.

 Wood not use as lumber but also used as mine timber, railway sleepers or ties, posts, poles, fencing and various minor products such as cork, waxes, nuts, resins and bark, while the uses of converted wood are dominated by the practice of converting wood to pulp to make paper.







Forest uses.

































Future of forestry in Sindh.

The future of forestry in Sindh will be based on the properly, scientifically, follow-up of following steps:






















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In future co-operation is needed in-situ and ex-situ methods to conserve the genetic diversity, exchange of reproductive material and monitoring of progress in these fields. Regular exchange of information, long term conservation strategies and methodologies, exchange of genetic material, literature on field trials and collection.

More information and their priorities are explain as under:

Forest policy and legislation.  Environment and nature protection.
 Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management.
Sustainable forest management.  Bio-diversity and gene resources.
 Eco-system management.
Forest economics.  System of selling wood.
 Proper investment strategies.
Information management.  Statistical system of information.
 Collection of database.
Strengthening the institutional frame work.  Government forestry.
 Private forestry.
Public awareness.  Forestry in policy circle.

Maintenance, conservation of biological diversity in forest eco-system.

 To provide a legal/regulatory framework, so it should:

• Clarifies the concept of management, conservation and sustainable development of forest.

 To provide capacity building of an institutional framework:

• To provide maintenance and conservation and appropriately enhance biological diversity at the eco-system, species and genetic material.

• To identify economic value in forests, where management is helping in maintaining and control of biological diversity.

 To provide economic policies framework and financial instrument which help in:

• Developing new resources and incentives to enhance the mechanisms for predicting impacts of human intervention on forests.

• Supports economic value in forests, so its management can help in maintaining the biological diversity.

 To help in developing the informational means to implement the policy framework this helps.
• In developing a new inventories and ecological impact assessment on biological diversity.

• To develop a tools to assess the effect of forest management on biological diversity.


Conclusion.

Measurement that show correlation between climate change and forest growth have attributed to the effect of rain and other forms of pollution. We have to half destruction of forests, especially high bio-mass forests like tropical rain forest and conifer forest. Forest destruction contribute 1/5th carbon to the atmosphere as fossil fuel use and deforestation rates are rising rapidly. Up to some extent methane release can be diminish by protecting forests and reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Forest trees and forest soil are the storage place of carbon. Release and up-take of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, can effect on climatic change. The solution to control global warming is energy conservation and halting of deforestation to reduce carbon dioxide emission.

Forestry itself have genetic implications, since in breeding organisms requiring much space, population sizes are often kept small. The taxonomy and reproductive biology variation is done on genera like Pinus, Eucalyptus, Tectona, Acacia, Gmelina and Terminolia while production forestry work done on Leucaena, prosopis and gliricidia used as agro-forestry. The genetic conservation of woody plants need more speedy collection and conservation of seed and only time-frame bears any relation to climatic change.

We have to concentrate on fire-tolerant tree growth like sequoia gigantea, which not only helps in destruction of forest by natural fire but it wood will helps to protect the building to catch fire.

If we improve forestry in Sindh-Pakistan, it will not only boost our economy but also protect the nature and provide sustainable development in the universe.




Author: Farzana Panhwar (Mrs)
Address: 157-C, Unit No.2, Latifabad, Hyderabad
(Sindh), Pakistan.
E-mail: farzanapanhwar@hotmail.com
Fax: 92-21-5830826 and 92-221-860410