MEDIA

Economics Department News in the Media

The fate of the forest

"The connection between Pakistan's timber mafia and the country's deforestation can be gauged from the belief that the government regularly takes bribes from the timber mafia in exchange for permits to fell trees. The outcome is that forests have been ruthlessly exploited by law-enforcement agencies, politicians and bureaucrats for their own vested interests.

In addition, poverty is another major factor that has contributed to forest shrinkage in Pakistan. For many people who are unable to earn a living in any other way, felling trees to sell timber to traders helps them make their ends meet. This is mainly because the government pays a low price for legal timber to locals as compared to the amount offered by timber smugglers."

This Op-ped has been written by Samar Quddus, MPhil in Development student at GIDS, Lahore School of Economics.