FAO rep says forest resource under threat of degradation

PESHAWAR: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations marked World Water and Forest day in a joint event held with IUCN and Arid Agriculture University on Monday.

A press release said the event was attended by experts from NGOs, INGOs, academia and Ministry of Climate Change.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, speaking at the event highlighted the government’s efforts in forest restoration in the country. He stated that the government has started 10 billion trees tsunami project in 12 ecological zones of the country, which is targeting over a million hectare of forest restoration. He said the initiatives are people-centered projects, which has created half a million green jobs.

FAO Representative in Pakistan Rebekah Bell stated that forests play an important role in the environment; preventing climate change and improving local livelihoods. However, in many countries including Pakistan, the forest resource and related ecosystem are under a serious threat of degradation. She said that a business as usual approach is no longer an option for managing forests and related resources in the current climate change context.

The paradigm shift requires the identification, scaling up best practices and knowledge sharing by all partners.She said Pakistan is the fifth most climate impacted country in the world and this is negatively impacting the livelihoods of the communities, especially those living in the mountain areas of the country and who rely on forest ecosystems for their livelihoods.