Changing Perspectives on Forest Policy

Policy thatworksforforestsandpeople1No: Pakistan Ahmed and Mahmood PAKISTAN Changing perspectives on forest policy This report traces the story of how the policy debate has been opened up in Pakistan, princi- pally through experience with participatory forestry projects and conservation strategies. Legal changes have been made to allow communities to play their part in joint forest management, reinforcing a trend away from governmental control alone and towards reinstating community mechanisms and rules. Building on an identification of what works well in Pakistan, recommen- dations are made for further improving the policy process, and for installing key policies which will help the sustainability of forest management and optimise stakeholder benefits. Policy that works for forests and people series Forest issues often concern large amounts of money, long timeframes, huge areas of land, and diverse livelihoods. The issues are complex and vary from place to place. However, a pattern of forest problems is common to many countries: continuing loss of natural forests; over-concen- trated control and inequitable access to forests; an ill-informed public; and poorly-resourced, inflexible forestry institutions. Policy is the root cause of many of these forest problems. This series consists of six country studies - from Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe - and an overview report. The series aims at a better understand- Changing perspectives ing of the forces at play in contests over policy, the winners and losers, and the factors that affect policy outcomes. It also describes the processes that make and manage good policies and the policy instruments that work in different contexts. By dealing with policy in practice - in on forest policy the ‘real world’ of people and their institutions - the series aims to go beyond the frequently heard complaint that there is a lack of ‘political will’ to change, by showing how policy can change for the better. This report was financed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands Development Assistance (NEDA) Javed Ahmed Fawad Mahmood Policy that works for forests and people ISSN: 1028-8228 Figure 1.2 Vegetation Map of Pakistan Figure 1.3 Forests and protected areas containing forest of Pakistan Photo: Stephen Bass Remaining montane conifer forests are under great pressure for timber production. Here in Kohistan, trees are felled on even the steepest slopes, leading to soil erosion. They are converted into rough-hewn scants in order to get them out of the remote forests. This method, however, can produce over 50 per cent wastage of wood. Photo: Stephen Bass Wood prices in Pakistan’s cities are often much higher than the world market price. In Karachi, bamboo is imported from Bangladesh to meet simple construction needs Photo: Sonja Iskov/Still Pictures The large population of Afghan refugees is placing heavy burdens on the slow-growing forest resources of Balochistan Photo: Andy Crump/Still Pictures Photo: A new look at energy policy and its relation to forestry is required. Environmental and social costs of energy use need to be driven down. The relative costs of using fuelwood or fossil fuels (such as diesel) will often depend upon how well the forest resources in the locality are managed. Sometimes, subsidies may be warranted. Photo: James Mayers Palas Valley contains Pakistan’s most outstanding area of Western Himalayan temperate forest - internationally recognised as one of the world’s highest pri- orities for biodiversity conservation. Communities have an excellent knowl- edge of the resource and are becoming involved in its conservation, largely through the facilitation of WWF-Pakistan and BirdLife International. Photo: Willem Ferwerda Poplar (Populus spp) are grown for fuel, timber, poles and fodder on irrigated terraces around Gilgit. Projects such as the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme have built upon traditional poplar cultivation methods and helped integrate trees into farming systems. Photo: Stephen Bass Projects such as the AKRSP have established a policy-level understanding that community organisations can hold the key for sustainable forestry in remote areas. Over 1500 Village Organisations are supported by AKRSP in Northern Areas. Communities have been planting large areas to meet a woodfuel and timber deficit, and have been devising rules to protect diminishing natural forests. Photo: Stephen Bass Women, such as this group in Hunza, are often responsible for collecting firewood and leaves for fodder. In participatory forest projects, it is all too easy for women’s forestry work burden to increase, without the benefit returning to them. In some projects, however, they have made businesses of the skilled work of raising nurseries, and the in- come goes to them directly. PAKISTAN COUNTRY Policy that works for forests and people series no. 1 STUDY Changing perspectives on forest policy Authors: Javed Ahmed and Fawad Mahmood Series Editor: James Mayers Study coordinated by IUCN - The World Conservation Union Pakistan International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) United Kingdom In collaboration with Government of Pakistan 1998 Copies of this report are available from: IUCN-The World Conservation Union House 26, Street 87, G-6/3 Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: +92 51 270686-7 Fax: +92 51 270688 e-mail: [email protected] Publications International Institute for Environment and Development 3 Endsleigh Street London WC1H 0DD, UK Tel: +44 171 388 2117 Fax: +44 171 388 2826 e-mail: [email protected] Citation: Ahmed, J. and Mahmood, F. 1998. Changing perspectives on forest policy. Policy that works for forests and people series no. 1. IUCN Pakistan and International Institute for Environment and Develop- ment, Islamabad and London. Cover photo: Palas Valley forest by James Mayers Design and production by Eileen Higgins at IIED. Illustration © Christine Bass: based on a wood-carving detail from a mosque in Skardu, Pakistan Printed by Russell Press, Nottingham, UK. Printed on Highland Velvet Pro 115gsm, 100% chlorine free Policy that Works for Forests and People is a project coordinated by the Forestry and Land Use Pro- gramme of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) supported by the Neth- erlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK Department for International Development. The Policy that Works for Forests and People Series derives from this project. Other studies in the series to date are: no. 2 Papua New Guinea Colin Filer and Nikhil Sekhran no. 3 India Arvind Khare, Seema Bathla, S Palit, Madhu Sarin and NC Saxena no. 4 Ghana Nii Ashie Kotey, Kojo Amanor, Lawrence Antwi, JohnnyFrancois, JGK Owusu and Raphael Yeboah no. 5 Zimbabwe Calvin Nhira, Sibongile Sibanda, Peter Gondo, JJ Mangono and Crispen Marunda no. 6 Costa Rica Vicente Watson, Sonia Cervantes, Cesar Castro, Leonardo Mora, Magda Solis, Ina T. Porras and Beatriz Cornejo no. 7 Overview report James Mayers and Stephen Bass These studies are available from IIED at the address above. Changing perspectives on forest policy i ii Policy that works for forests and people: Pakistan country study Foreword “Policy that Works for Forests and People” is a collaborative research project of the Forestry and Land Use Programme of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands Development Assistance (NEDA). The project was implemented simultaneously in Papua New Guinea, India, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Pakistan. In each country, it was carried out by a multi-disciplinary team drawn from local institutions. The Pakistan case study was co-ordinated by IUCN-Pakistan, with active support and input from the four provincial forest departments and the federal office of the Inspector General of Forests. In recent years, considerable concern has been voiced over the state of forests in Pakistan. Moreover, there are increasing conflicts between different groups over the goods and services which can be obtained from these forests; and those who ‘win’ such conflicts often end up reducing the quantity or quality of remaining forests. Various factors have been held responsible for this alarming situation, ranging from the historical colonial structure of the provincial forest departments and their style of governance, to the emergence of a “timber mafia” that thrives on access to power and patronage, and on a defunct policy making process. Achieving the transition from such a situation to sustainable forest management is a huge challenge for forest “stakeholders” and the authorities. This study grew out of a conviction that a conscious effort is needed to analyse the root causes of forest problems, and to document success or “best practices” in the forestry sector in Pakistan. This could provide information on which to base progress. Yet it is also clear that policy processes themselves are too weak to be able to use such ‘policy research’ information effectively. Hence the study also undertook two more innovative approaches: analysing the policy processes relevant to forests and people; and involving collaborators from various stakeholder groups - to begin to open up these policy processes themselves to discussion and Changing perspectives on forest policy iii analysis. In this way, the study cannot be considered to have been ‘detached’ from the policy

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