Status of forest genetic resources conservation and management in Pakistan

Abstract

In the past, forests have been managed by the Provincial Forest Departments mainly for protection. It is only during the last three decades that production aspect, through involvement of local communities, had been given due consideration. As the FGR are mainly confined to mountainous areas of northern Pakistan, afforestation of logged over areas has been exclusively carried out by the Provincial Forest Departments sponsored by foreign aid agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP), ADB, UN HCR, Swiss Development Agency, GTZ and FAO/UNDP. Indigenous species have been used with little efforts towards conservation or use of quality planting stock. Stand conservation in the sub-continent has been practised since the mid-1940s in the form of “Preservation Plots” wherein the original flora of a compartment is maintained and preserved on scientific lines. However, no efforts were made during the last four decades to continue this system. By and large, as the population pressure by humans and livestock increased, the natural forests were not given due attention that they would have deserved. The genetic origin of the planting stock is of poor quality; seeds are collected from genetically inferior stands, which later on results in low survival and productivity in plantations. As for artificial regeneration, planting of less important species e.g. Ailanthus and Robinia in Pinus roxburghii (chir pine) stands has not only upset the balance of natural ecosystem but also further maske d FGR conservation efforts. These operations were supplemented by constructing check dams to improve water catchment areas, which resulted in degradation in the coniferous forests.