Pakistan: Sindh's Dadu district witnesses protest against Illegal tree-cutting in riverbed areas

Dadu [Pakistan], August 17 : Rampant tree-cutting in the riverbed areas of Dadu district in Pakistan's Sindh has triggered public protests, The Express Tribune reported.

On Saturday, citizens gathered on the Dadu-Johi road to raise their voices against the unauthorised logging, with lawyers, journalists, political activists, and NGO workers joining the demonstration, according to The Express Tribune.

The newspaper quoted Advocate Muhammad Yaqoob Rustamani as saying that widespread, unauthorised logging is underway in Kaacho. "The mafia is fearlessly chopping wood for monetary gains while government officials are silently spectating," he told The Express Tribune. Protesters further alleged that more than 100 trees had been felled and transported through city roads to different destinations.

As per The Express Tribune, poet Khalil Soomro and other participants accused the police of turning a blind eye to vehicles carrying timber out of the district. The protesters demanded that the Sindh government not only stop the illegal activity but also take strict action against those involved.

Illegal tree destruction is a significant environmental and socio-economic issue in Pakistan, contributing to widespread deforestation and environmental degradation.

According to The Express Tribune, until 1980, Karachi's coastline was covered with dense mangrove forests consisting of eight species. Over the last four decades, however, federal and provincial authorities have allowed two to three kilometres of this coastal land to be occupied for luxury residential and commercial developments, even though mangroves are protected under both national and international laws.

The Express Tribune further reported that, based on a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study, satellite images reveal extensive mangrove destruction along the city's coastal belt. Between 2010 and 2022, around 200 hectares of mangroves were lost due to illegal logging by mafias and land being cleared for residential, commercial, and industrial projects. The trees, reaching up to 30 feet in height with trunks measuring two to six inches in diameter, were cut in a systematic yet discreet manner, often intermittently rather than in serial order.

The newspaper also highlighted that local communities contributed to the loss by cutting trees for firewood, a situation exacerbated by insufficient monitoring and a lack of accountability from law enforcement agencies. These activities have left Karachi's coastal areas increasingly vulnerable to the severe consequences of natural disasters, The Express Tribune noted.

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