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The South Asian scenario
Nepal
The major part of
Nepal lies in the sub-tropical monsoon region, but the wide range of topographic
variation allows a wide variety of flora in the country. The distribution of
natural forests mainly follows the altitudinal pattern. The most common species
is the tropical sal (predominantly Shorea robusta) forests which occur at the
altitude below 1000 metres. Sub-tropical forests are found at the altitude of
1000 to 2000 metres which are coniferous or broad-leaved. The principal
coniferous species is chir pine (Pinus roxburghii). The broad-leaved forests are
a mix of mainly chestnuts, alders and chilaune (Schima wallichii). The temperate
forests lying at the altitude of 2000 to 3000 metres include a mix of oak, pine
and rhododendron. Sub-alpine forests are found from around 3000 metres up to
4200 metres with a mix of firs, beech, rhododendron and juniper. The country has
a modest area under plantation forest. About 15 per cent of Nepal’s land area is
covered by national parks, wildlife reserves or conservation areas. Although the
country has 35 per cent forest cover, but at least a quarter of the forest area
is heavily degraded. Only 8 per cent of Nepal’s forests are protected and
annually 4,000 ha. Of land is annually reforested. Considering this problem
Nepal approved a new Forest Act in 1993 and this provides legal support to
community forestry and remains one of the most progressive legislations for
forest management.
Pakistan
Pakistan has very
low forest cover, about 4 per cent of total land area is covered by forests, 5
per cent of which is protected. There is a great variety of species because of
the country’s great physiographic and climatic contrasts. The forests of the
country are of various types such as (a) littoral and swamp forests, (b)
tropical dry deciduous forests, (c) tropical thorn forests, (d) sub-tropical
broad-leaved evergreen forests, (e) sub-tropical pine forests, Himalayan moist
temperate forests, (f) Himalayan dry temperate forests, (g) sub-alpine forests
and (h) alpine scrub. The predominating species is of coniferous type. The
North-West Frontier Province has around 40 per cent of Pakistan’s forests.
Man-made forests are an important wood source in Pakistan. These are of four
main types : irrigated plantations, farmland trees, linear planting and
miscellaneous planting. About 90 per cent of the country’s wood production is
used as fuel. In 1980’s 21.9 mil.cu.m. of wood was harvested most of which was
used as fuel. A two-year ban has been put to protect the large-scale illegal
logging. Annually 7,000 ha. Of land is reforested in Pakistan. The national
draft Forest Sector Policy of Pakistan of 1998 is now under discussion and
people’s participation is considered to be a strong element in the proposed
policy.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, a moderately forested
island state of the south coast of India, consists of mainly closed forests with
broad-leaved and evergreen trees. The species are distinguished by their
occurrence in dry or wet zones and by elevation. The remaining forests are
mostly of dry monsoon type. Some areas are covered by savannah and thorn
woodland and a small coastal areas of mangroves. Fragments of tropical
rainforest are found, only a few areas covered by those forests are more than
10,000 hectares. Over the last century much of the forest resources have been
converted into some other sorts of landuse such as plantation crops and other
forms of agriculture, human settlements, shifting cultivation etc. The remaining
part is also under a great pressure as the demand for the forest products is
increasing with the population increase.
| Area /
Country | 1995('000
ha) | 1995 (%)
| 1990-'95
|
| World | 3,454,382 | 26.6 | - 0.3
|
| South Asia
| 77,137 | 18.7 | - 0.2
|
| Bangladesh | 1,010
| 7.8 | - 0.8
|
| Bhutan | 2,756 | 58.6 | - 0.3
|
| India
65,005 | 21.9 | 21.9 | 0.O |
| Maldives | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Nepal | 4,822 | 35.2 | - 1.1
|
| Pakistan | 1,748 | 2.3 | - 2.9
|
| Sri Lanka
| 1,796 | 27.8 | - 1.1
|
Sri Lanka has a estate comprised mainly of teak, eucalyptus,
pine and mahogany. Here 13,000 ha. Of land is annually reforested. It has a
strong tradition of forestry conservation and around 15 per cent of the
country’s land area is under protected areas. Commercial logging is not
permitted in the natural forests, trees outside the forests are vitally
important which provide 70 per cent of the total needs of industrial wood. The
capacity of the mills is small and the efficiency is low.
The green
cover of the earth which is the prime support of our day-to-day life is rapidly
decreasing as a result of human interferences. The worldwide situation of
forestry is quite disappointing. In the whole world only 26.6 per cent of the
land is covered by forests and in South Asia the situation is more depressing,
only 18.7 per cent of the total land is covered by forests. Again, among the
South Asian countries Pakistan and Bangladesh show the worst scenario. The
proportion of land covered by forests in Pakistan and Bangladesh were 2.3 and
7.8 per cent respectively in 1995. Except for Bhutan, all the other countries
consist of less than 50 per cent forest cover. The legal restrictions imposed
are not satisfactory at all, as a result of which we find a decreasing trend of
forests from 1990 to’95 in almost everywhere. In the six countries of
South Asia, the amount of deforestation between 1980 and 1990 averaged 440,000
hectares of forests, which comes to a change of – 0.6 per cent per annum
(FAO 1991). The forestry scenario as a whole suggests that the South Asian
countries should have more green cover to provide a healthy breath and a better
tomorrow for all.
Reference
http://www.forestworld.com/
http://www.fao.org/
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