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Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Forest Genetic Resources Working Papers Status of forest genetic resources conservation and management in Pakistan by Shams R. Khan Pakistan Forest Institute 2003 Forest Resources Development Service Working Paper FGR/67E Forest Resources Division FAO, Rome, Italy Disclaimer The Forest Genetic Resources Working Papers report on issues and activities in related to the conservation, sustainable use and management of forest genetic resources. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and programmes and to stimulate discussion. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Quantitative information regarding the status of forest resources has been compiled according to sources, methodologies and protocols identified and selected by the author, for assessing the diversity and status of genetic resources. For standardized methodologies and assessments on forest resources, please refer to FAO, 2003. State of the World’s Forests 2003; and to FAO, 2001. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 (FRA 2000). FAO Forestry Paper No 140. Official information can also be found at the FAO Internet site (http://www.fao.org/forestry/Forestry.asp). This paper is based on a country report prepared for the Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) Inception Workshop, held at Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 15-18 July 200. The Workshop was organized by the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Regional Office for Asia, the Pacific and Oceania, in technical collaboration with FAO. The proceedings of the workshop, including this paper, will be published in “Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) Inception Workshop, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 15-18 July, 2003” and available on line at: “http://www.apforgen.org/”. Comments and feedback are welcome. For further information please contact: Pierre Sigaud, Forestry Officer (Forest Genetic Sim Heok-Choh, Ph.D. Resources) Executive Director Forestry Department APAFRI Secretariat FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla c/o Forest Research Institute Malaysia 00100 Rome, Italy Kepong, 52109 Kuala Lumpur Fax: + 39 06 570 55 137 Malaysia Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] For quotation: Shams R. Khan. 2003. Status of forest genetic resources conservation and management in Pakistan. Forest Genetic Resources Working Papers, Working Paper FGR/67E. Forest Resources Development Service, Forest Resources Division. FAO, Rome. TABLE OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. High altitude coniferous forests ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Low altitude (<1200 m) broad-leaved species forests ..................................................................... 1 1.3. Agroforestry plantations ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.4. Coastal and riverine forests................................................................................................................. 2 2. CONSERVATION OF FGR....................................................................................................... 2 3. PAST AND PRESENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN CONSERVATION, UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FGR...................................................................... 3 3.1. Conservation and use of Pinus wallichiana ........................................................................................ 4 3.2. Use of biotechnologies......................................................................................................................... 4 3.3. Choice of species for conservation and use ...................................................................................... 4 4. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND ISSUES RELATED TO CONSERVATION, UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FGR ................................. 5 5. IDENTIFICATION OF NATIONAL PRIORITIES .............................................................. 6 6. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES .......... 7 7. PROPOSAL FOR REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION ............ 8 8. CONCLUSIONS.......................................................................................................................... 8 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................10 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................11 Appendix 1. Value and use of target species in Pakistan, including exotics ................................ 12 Appendix 2. Conservation and management of economically important forest genetic resources by ecogeographic zone in Pakistan; number of individual trees in each ecological zone......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix 3. Level and nature of threats to the integrity of populations of important tree species in Pakistan ................................................................................................................................17 Appendix 4. List of priority species for conservation, improvement or seed procurement, their uses and conservation activities needed............................................................................................ 20 Tables TABLE 1. MULTIPLE USES OF HIGH ALTITUDE CONIFEROUS FORESTS IN PAKISTAN .......................... 1 TABLE 2. PRIORITY SPECIES FOR AFFORESTATION IN DIFFERENT PROVINCES IN PAKISTAN.............. 6 1. Introduction Offering numerous goods and services to a common man, forest genetic resources (FGR) play an important role not only in the mitigation of pollution but also by offering a good source of revenue to the national government. Pakistan has forest cover of about 4.8%. Forests help to monitor the flow of rivers in the north and regulate siltation in two important dams. Forests trees also meet the demand of small scale farmers for fodder, timber and fuelwood as almost 90% of the firewood requirements are met from trees grown on farmlands. With an annual increase of 3%, the total population would be around 150 million by the end of 2003 and evidently the demand for timber and fodder would increase along with an increase in livestock especially among the poor rural communities who depend on these forests. The natural forests also provide good shelter for important medicinal herbs as well as suitable habitats for wildlife. Although the forest area is small, stands of all forest types occur in Pakistan ranging from arid zones to dry/wet temperate ecosystems. Forests of Pakistan are spread over 4 263 000 ha. Based upon altitude and rainfall pattern, forests can be broadly classified into the following four categories: 1.1. High altitude coniferous forests The high altitude coniferous forests lie between 1200 to 3200 m asl. with a small percentage (<25%) of broad-leaved species. Important coniferous genera include Abies, Pinus, Cedrus and Picea while few major associated broad-leaved genera include Acer, Betula, Fraxinus and Taxus. The total area of such forests is 1 928 000 ha, which constitutes about 45.2% of the total forest area. These forests provide an array of products as shown in Table 1 below: TABLE 1. MULTIPLE USES OF HIGH ALTITUDE CONIFEROUS FORESTS IN PAKISTAN Use No of species Use No of species Timber 15 Fodder 20 Medicine 28 Fruit/Food 18 Fuelwood 14 Small wood 12 Ornamental 6 Resin etc. 2 Soap 2 Honey harvesting 4 1.2. Low altitude (<1200 m) broad-leaved species forests These forests cover an area of 520 000 ha of irrigated and foot hill plantations in Punjab and Sindh consisting of Populus sp. (poplar), Dalbergia sissoo (shisham), Bombax ceiba (semal), bakain, mulberry and Eucalyptus. The aridity is mostly compensated by irrigation. 1.3. Agroforestry plantations Farmers have been planting trees on their lands for centuries. Recently, these activities have been accelerated by the Forestry Planning and Development Project (1985 – 1996) and are continued now under forestry sector projects in each province. The most common species are eucalypts, bakain, semal, poplars, acacias, Prosopis, shisham and mulberry. The local requirements of farmers for fodder, fuelwood and poles are readily met from trees planted singly or in rows or in block plantations. 1 A modified form of agroforestry system called “Hurry” is also practised in Sindh where 2-4 acres of land is set aside to raise plantations of Acacia nilotica only. Poles are exclusively used as pit props in coalmines. These plantations cover an area of about 200 000 ha. Farmers have also started to establish their own nurseries about two decades ago to increase tree cover especially on marginal lands.