PFI organizes workshop on NAP for forest, landscape restoration

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PESHAWAR
Pakistan Forest Institution (PFI) on Tuesday organized a two-day consultative workshop titled “Development of National Action Plan for Forest and Landscape Restoration in Pakistan”.
Speakers of the workshop stressed the need for creative and bold actions to halt forest and landscape further degradation and achieve sustainable ecological integrity in the country through various novel strategies by involving government line departments, non-governmental organizations, private actors and local communities.
The participants of the workshop held a detailed discussion over innovative approach “ Forest and Landscape Restoration” to bring all relevant stakeholders including government line departments, civil society, local community and media to identify, negotiate and implement practices and restore tracts of degraded forest and other ecosystems across the country for social and economic benefits of the society.
Director General PFI Mohammad Akbar Khan informed the participants that the aim of the workshop is to guide government agencies as well as all other relevant stockholders about the emerging concept of Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR).
“The concept is based on the recognition that trees and forests are integral components of rural landscape and that diversification at landscape level can enhance social, economic and ecological function while accommodating different site conditions and land management goals,” he explained.
Based on the new concept FLR draft was shared with the workshop participants. As per the draft “FLR is an innovative approach that integrates restoration work in the forest with other activities across the landscape for achieving optimum productivity, both in economic and ecological terms”.
Dr Anwar Ali, director Forest Research, maintained that the above-mentioned action plan has been devised with certain objectives including to guide government agencies, NGOs, private sector and especially local communities to undertake forest and landscape restoration in Pakistan.
It also pinpointed strategies , priorities, and action for restoration of degraded landscape through adequate consultation with all relevant stockholders.
“Identify national and international partners and donors for financing FLR implementation,” he explained.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan is forest deficient country and per capita forest in the country is nearly 0.02 hectare which is the lowest in South Asia.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Pakistan has lost 1.261 million hectares of forest cover during 1990-220 which is equivalent to 25 percent of the total forest area.
DG Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar Muhammad Akbar Khan, Inspector General of Forest and Climate Change Islamabad Abdul Qadir Shah, Dr Anwar Ali Director of Forest Research, World Bank representative Chris spoke, forest officers and experts from all provinces of the country also expressed their views in the workshop.
DG Akbar Khan maintained the national action plan is being prepared at the national level with the cooperation of the government, FAO, World Bank (WB) and other relevant stakeholders to restore the forest landscape.
After a proper consultation the recommendations of the workshop would be shared with the government for devising a holistic policy to forest and landscape restoration in the country, he added.