Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah has sought a scientific inventory of the state forests located in Sindh, a news source reported. For this purpose, he directed the Forest Department to prepare the inventory to determine land under forest cover, including irrigated forests and the riverine.
CM Shah gave these instructions during a meeting held at the CM House. In addition to CM’s Advisor on Climate Change Barrister Murtaza Wahab, several other officers concerned attended the meeting.
Officials briefed the CM that the first inventory of state forests in Sindh was conducted in 1994. In, 2007, the Forest Department conducted an in-house study of the state land covered by forests. It revealed that forest cover had declined over the years.
The CM stated that according to the global paradigm shift on forest conservation, they should aim to preserve the state forest for the purpose of climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, pollution control, soil & water conservation, and protection against natural disasters. He added that resources like fodder, timber, and fuel wood were no longer the key objectives of forest management.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department also presented a new forest policy to the cabinet, which constituted a committee for providing recommendations on its implementation. The department would implement the ‘Sindh Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2019’ once the cabinet’s sub-committee has submitted its recommendations.
