SOCIO-ECONOMIC & DEMOGRAPHIC BASELINE STUDY OF PARERAH, DILJABBA AND ARA FOREST COMMUNITIES-CHAKWAL FOREST DIVISION SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PROJECT Rana Mohammad Farooq Dr. Tahir Mahmood 1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC & DEMOGRAPHIC BASELINE STUDY OF PARERAH, DILJABBA AND ARA FOREST COMMUNITIES-CHAKWAL FOREST DIVISION SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT TO SECURE MULTIPLE BENEFITS IN PAKISTAN’S HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS By Rana Mohammad Farooq Dr. Tahir Mahmood 2 Executive Summary The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) have launched a project titled “Sustainable forest management to secure multiple benefits in Pakistan’s high conservation value of forests”. The project is aimed at to promote sustainable forest management in Pakistan’s western Himalayan temperate coniferous, subtropical broad leaved evergreen thorn (scrub) and riverine forest for biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change and securing of forest ecosystem service. This paper encompasses the study of socio-economic aspects of the salt range scrub forest landscape located in Chakwal and Jhelum Districts of the Punjab province, to develop a framework for sustainable management. The landscape represents an ecosystem that contributes largely to economic and welfare of the communities which depend, directly or indirectly on the exploitation of natural resources of this ecosystem. Hence, there is interrelationship between environment and socio- economic conditions prevailing in the area. They are affected by the natural environment with its various ecosystems which provide continues supply of goods and services. The stability of environment, sustainable forest management and welfare of communities are highly associated and correlated. The total area of landscape is 20,000 ha, out of which 7,859 ha is forested and owned by the state, and 6,672 ha in the outer landscape is private land, including cultivation (1,752 ha) and pastures and settlements, 5469 ha is communal land. The salt range landscape forests comprise of Prarera, Diljabba and Arra reserved forest. The area has nearly 25 villages and hamlets situated in an around these forests that consist of around 11,000 households and 66,000 forest dependent local communities. These communities are poor and mostly dependent on marginal agriculture, goods and services from communal lands and state forests and nonfarm jobs in and outside salt range. Since centuries, these communities are making their livelihood from these forests. The sustainable management of these forests largely depends on judicious use of these resources for the benefit of these communities and for the generations to come. To secure their active involvement, the understanding of their demographic conditions, population trend, population characteristic, social structure, local institutions, economic condition, employment opportunities, land use pattern and status of community resources in very vital. The social and economic structure and endowment of community resources provide an insight to understand the dynamics of a community. In this paper efforts have made to understand these communities in their social, economic, cultural and historical prospective. Key issues affecting the social and economic aspects of life of these communities has been tried to discuss. There are potential threats to the future of landscape but at the same time there are number of opportunities due to uniqueness of landscape area. The sustainable management of these forests largely depends on intelligent management and judicious use of resources. The clearing of the private lands for agriculture, division of shamlats, felling of trees from private and communal lands for tobacco roasting and firewood, over grazing of the forest areas, damage due to nomadic graziers and coal mines, illicit cutting, lopping and grazing, abandoning of agriculture lands, soil erosion, illegal hunting and poaching, are major threats for sustainability of the landscape. In the wake of all these odds, there are number of opportunities, which can offset or minimize the impact of these hostile actors. It includes, provision of alternative fuel for domestic consumption, promotion of off season vegetable cultivation and barani horticulture, rainwater harvesting, livestock breed improvement, poultry production, development of mining based industry, promotion of tourism and skill enhancement program for youth. Conversion of threats into opportunities needs effective and meaningful engagement of local communities. The sustainable forest management and addressing the socio economic needs of the communities are deeply interlinked components of the landscape and understanding the dynamic of these factors, determine the sustainability of ecosystem. 3 List of Acronyms UNDP: United Nations Development Project MOCC: Ministry of Climate Change SFM: Sustainable Forest Management PRA: Participatory Rural Apprised ha: Hectare RF Reserve Forest UC Union Council PP Punjab Provincial Assembly NA National Assembly mi Mile MSL Mean See Level LHW Lady Health Workers SC Settlement Commissioner 4 List of Tables Table 1. Land Area of District Chakwal Table 2. Detail of Tehsil, Union Councils, Villages, Schools and Police Stations of District Chakwal Table 3. Detail of Seats of Provincial and National Assembly Table 4. Detail of Population according to Provisional Census Report 2017 Table 5. Detail of Schools and Student Enrollment Table 6. Detail of Compartments and Area of Forests of Landscape Table 7. Detail of compartments and area of Parerra Reserve Forest Table 8. Settlement and Population Adjustment of Parera Forest Table 9. Detail of compartments and area of Diljabba Reserve Forest Table 10. Settlement and Population Adjacent to Diljabba Forest Area Table 11. Detail of area of compartments of Arra Forest Table 12. Settlement and Population Adjacent to Arra Forest Area Table 13. Detail of livestock in Basharat, Diljabba & Arra Table 14. Detail of Livestock facilities available Table 15. Livestock activities during the year Table 16. Detail of Poultry Farms in Landscape Area Table 17. Detail of Small Dams Table 18. Name of Mineral Production in Punjab (hundred metric tons) Production Table 19. Detail of Mining Leases in Chakwal District Table 20. Detail of Mining Leases in Landscape Areas Table 21. Detail of Resource dependency Level in Parera Forest Table 22. Detail of Resource dependency Level in Diljabba Forest Table 23. Detail of Resource dependency Level in Arra Forest 5 List of Figures Fig. 1. Map of District Chakwal Fig. 2. Forests Area of Project Site Fig. 3 Map of Forest of Landscape Fig. 4. Map of Rakh Diljaba Reserve Forest Fig. 5. Map of Diljabba Forest Fig. 6. Map of Arra Forest 6 Table of Contents Sr. No. Contents Page No. 1 Introduction 1 2 Methodology 2 3 Profile of District Chakwal 3 3.1 Administrative Setup of the District 3 3.2 Constituencies and Local Bodies 4 3.3 Past History of the District 5 3.4 Demography 5 3.5 Education 5 3.6 Salient Futures of the District 6 4 Choa Saidan Shah 6 4.1 Location 7 4.2 History 7 4.3 Salient Futures of the Tehsil 7 5 Description of Salt Range Scrub Forest Landscape 7 5.1 Rakh Prarera Reserved Forests 9 5.1.1 Settlement and Population Adjacent to Forest Area 10 5.1.2 Rights and Concession in Forest Area 11 5.2 Rakh Diljaba Reserve Forest 12 5.3 Arra Reserved Forest 14 6 Social Setup of the Landscape Area 15 6.1 Education 15 6.2 Water and Sanitation 16 6.3 Health Facility 16 6.4 Child Mortality Rate 17 6.5 Employment 17 6.6 Housing 17 6.7 Social Benefits 17 6.8 Govt. Institutions 18 7 Natural Resources 18 7.1 Agriculture 18 7.2 Livestock Population of Union Council 18 7.3 Veterinary Institutions 19 7 7.4 Livestock Activities 19 7.5 Poultry Sector 20 7.6 Scope of Developing Livestock Sector in the Area 20 7.7 Future of Livestock Sector 20 8 Water Resources 20 8.1 Lakes, Mini & Small Dams 21 9 Mining industry 21 9.1 Mine and mineral production 22 9.2 Type of mining industry 22 10 Need Assessment of Communities 24 10.1 Needs and problems 24 10.2 Need Assessment for Communities Adjacent to Parera Forest Area 24 10.3 Need Assessment of communities adjacent to Arra forest area 24 10.4 Need Assessment of communities adjacent to Diljabba Forest Area 24 11 Findings 25 11.1 Social sector 25 11.2 Economic Sector 25 11.3 Natural Resources 25 11.4 Possible Solutions 26 11.4.1 Improvement of social services delivery and skill enhancement of local population 26 11.4.2 Value addition to Raw Material 26 11.4.3 Promotion of Livestock sector 26 11.4.4 Off Season Vegetable Cultivation 27 11.4.5 Water Harvesting 27 11.4.6 Promotion of Horticulture 27 11.4.7 Promotion of Tourism Activities 27 11.4.8 Finalization and implementation of management plans for forest of landscape areas 27 12 Assessment of resource dependency level and trends in resource use 27 12.1 Parera 27 12.2 Diljabba 28 12.3 Arra 29 8 13 Type of Resources Extracted 29 14 Method of Extraction 30 15 Quantity of Resources 30 15.1 Firewood Dependency of Communities on State Forest 30 15.2 Quantity of Fodder Extracted from State Forest 30 16 Existing or potential user of resources 31 17 Inter-Sector Conflicts 31 18 Impacts of conflict on the resources 31 19 Potential Options for their Resolution 31 20 Key Existing or Potential Resource Use 31 21 Potential Resource uses in Future 32 22 Inter Sector Conflict 32 9 1 Introduction The United Nations Development Programme (UNPP) and Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) have launched a project titled “Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) to secure multiple benefits in Pakistan’s high conservation value forests.” The project objective is to promote sustainable forest management in Pakistan’s western Himalaya temperate coniferous, sub tropical broadleaved evergreen thorn (Scrub) and Riverian Forests for Biodiversity Conservation, mitigation of Climate Change and securing of forest ecosystem services.