Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Forest Department has announced its decision to transfer the ownership of the forest lands located in the Newly-Merged Tribal Districts (NMTDs) to the area’s local communities, a news source reported.
The department plans to assign these forests the status of Guzara Forests (forests having 100% ownership with communities). While the communities will have the ownership, the department will still perform its management role.
A department official revealed that they had dispatched the project’s PC-1 for approval to the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP). As per the devised plan, the forest department would perform the ecological classification and official designation of the forests located in the NMTDs.
The official stated that the department was aiming for joint forest management in order to protect the forests with the direct involvement of the local communities and rights of the local tribes. He added that the department would take on board local parliamentarians, owners, and community leaders before placing these forests in the Guzara category.
Currently, the natural forests located in the NMTDs belong to the local tribes. The government, as of yet, has no role in the conservation, harvesting, and protection efforts of these forests.
