Impacts of timber harvesting ban on joint forest management in Upper Siran valley, NWFP
Impacts of timber harvesting ban on joint forest management in Upper Siran valley, NWFP
Fariha Iqbal, Nowsherwan Zarif and Tariq Mahmood
ABSTRACT
Ban on commercial harvesting of timber in the uplands of the country was imposed by the Government of Pakistan in October 1992, in response to the catastrophic floods. The primary motive behind the imposition was to restore and improve the forest cover in critical watersheds. As an aftermath of 1992 floods and timber harvesting ban (THB), participatory forest management became popular to manage forest resources in a sustainable manner. Thus the government of NWFP started pilot testing of the concept through donor assisted projects in the designated forests of Hazara. The concept of JFM (Joint Forest Management) is based on mutual trust and defines roles and responsibilities for the management of forest resources and at the same time independent decision making with regard to the priorities of the communities.
The present study was designed to monitor the effect of ban on timber harvesting through the JFM activities, compare the state and management of forests with post ban conditions, and study the impact of JFM on socio-economic conditions of local people. The analysis revealed that majority of the local people are supporting the JFM approach as well as THB as imposed by the Government but a fewer number of people are against the THB as they think that they are being deprived of their ancestral rights. Forest department is supporting the system as per the policy requirement but is not in favor of the THB because it is hindering in the scientific management of the existing forests. The study concludes that activities undertaken by the JFMCs under the current scenario of THB are mainly related to creating awareness about the resource among the masses, forest protection and capacity building. So far, local communities are not fully and actively involved in the sustainable management of the designated forest resources.
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