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From 1999 to 2018, Pakistan ranked 5th in the countries most affected by climate change. If something is not done about it, the melting of Himalayan glaciers will gravely threaten the country’s rivers. Although there are many reasons why this is happening, one of the essential things to curb climate change is tree plantation. Trees provide oxygen, prevent soil erosion and flash floods, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The Prime Minister’s Billion Tree Tsunami is a significant step towards fighting the effects of climate change. Still, all of it seems all for naught because of the country’s deforestation rate. Pakistan has the highest deforestation rate compared to the rest of the world at 0.2 to 0.5% annually. The biggest culprit of the crime of epic proportions is none other than the Timber Mafia.

The Inception of the Timber Mafia

What is now often called the timber mafia in Pakistan started out quite differently. When the British took over India in 1864, they declared that all the forests were state property. The reason behind it was to send timber from the woods to the Northwest railways and cantonment construction. However, the exploitation of the forests did not end after the partition as the Pakistani government established the Forest Department, which overharvested the forests of KPK. Initially, contractors were only responsible for the felling and transporting of the trees, but in the 1960s, the state permitted them to sell the timber as well. The system was that contracts were only given to the groups who could bid handsomely on trees still standing; once done, they would cut and market the trees. Due to this, the locals did not receive royalty payments.

After the accession of the states of Dir, Chitral, and Swat, the state started paying royalties to the locals in a fixed price system. As the system did not take in the rising prices of timber in the market, the locals were essentially being cheated. The following system to be implemented was the net sale system. An auction was held in the timber markets, and the highest bidder took away the harvested timber. Even though the total percentage was given as royalties, the cash was kept in government accounts for a long time. It caused a significant amount of rightful frustration in the owners. The exploitation of the owners and forests was made accessible due to the government withholding the money.

Facilitation by the Influential

“I don’t think any conservation efforts will really save Pakistan’s rapidly shrinking forests as long as the government does not deal with the timber mafia with an iron fist,” commented Ghulam Ali, who is an environmentalist from Chilas. The timber mafia enjoys exclusive perks of illegal felling because the local politicians benefit from deforestation by using the cleared land for their agricultural purposes or construction. The forest department, on the other hand, enjoys the bribes.

The Forest Department officials claim that they have curbed the threat of the Mafia, yet did not explain how they did it or were able to provide any proofs of it. Even with a ban on harvesting timber in 2013, 74 percent of KPK’s forests had been deforested with the help of the forest department. Note that this deforestation was beyond regenerative capacity.

When Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the tree planting campaign in the barren lands of Mattani, Garhi Chandan, and Azakhel, it took the Mafia less than a year to cut out the trees and be taken to the markets to be sold. The local residents tried their best to stop these efforts but were in vain because the police refused to take action against these people backed by certain influential people. 

“We’ve told the police about their activities [timber mafia], but we are helpless in the face of these influential persons,” said a local resident of Chandan Garhi.

Time and time again, the officials have been proven to be useless when it came to stopping these illegal loggers from destroying the precious forests of the trees. During the Taliban upsurge in Swat valley, the high command officially announced the ban on the felling of trees. They informed that the smuggled trees were going through the Nawagai Checkpost and were passed through bribing the officials during the announcement.

Victims of the Timber Mafia

Margallah Hills National Parks in Islamabad are rich and thick forests protected by Islamabad Wildlife Management Board. However, the Park, heavily guarded by men with weapons, is not enough to faze the timber mafia. These people are ruthless and are not afraid to take a human life to protect their interests. 

In January 2018, Safeer Hussain, an honest employee of IWMB, was on patrol duty around Trail 6 of Margallah Hills National Park along with six other guards when they were fired upon. The rest of the guards survived, but unfortunately for Safeer Hussain, it was the end of his life journey. This firing is also suspected to be the work of the Mafia as these guards are routinely patrolling to keep the forests safe from these illegals fellers.

An Environmental activist from Gilgit-Baltistan, Khan Muhammad Qureshi, has lost his brother and father at the hands of this timber mafia for raising a voice against them. The court acquitted the Killers, yet Khan Muhammad continues to fight for justice and protection of the forests. According to him, people have started to leave the surrounding areas because of lives lost in land sliding and floods.

Moreover, it is not just human lives that the Mafia has taken. They have also given a loss of around 15 billion to the national exchequer. It is not just human lives; even other living creatures are not safe around them. Each year fires engulf the Margallah Hills National Parks, which destroy any wildlife living on the surface or sleeping peacefully in the trees. The timber mafia has allegedly started these fires to cover their tracks after stealing the trees from the forest.

Current Corrective Measures by the Government

Among all of the bad news, there is some good news. The government has just recently started to take steps to fight off the threat of the Mafia. Recently, the Chief Minister of KPK has ordered a strict crackdown against the deforestation of the forests in the Province. In addition, the Gilgit-Baltistan officials have called upon FC’s help to fight off the threat of the timber mafia. Most importantly, The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is trying to take proper steps to reverse the effects of Climate Change by reclaiming lands from landlords who illegally profited from and turned them into wildlife parks and nature reserves. 

Although steps are being taken to prevent further illegal deforestation by some officials, activists, and local residents, it will not be enough unless the timber mafia is dealt with, with an iron fist. This includes the contractors and politicians supporting these gangs for their financial and political gain. As an environmentalist from Gilgit Baltistan, Nazakat Ali said while blaming the government for not implementing their will, “Tackling a handful of timber mafia is not really a daunting task,” he said. “But if these politicians are themselves timber mafia, how can they wage a war against themselves?”