Abstracts
Panel: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD): Impacts on South Asia
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD): Can it be a win-win opportunity for all stakeholders in Pakistan?
Discerning facts from fiction in Hazara and Malakand Northern Pakistan: Can REDD+ reverse the growing deforestation and degradation of forests?
An assessment of institutional framework and legal challenges for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in Pakistan
Estimation of carbon stocks in subtropical managed and unmanaged forests of Pakistan
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD): Can it be a win-win opportunity for all stakeholders in Pakistan?
Ch. Javed Ahmed*
Syed Mahmood Nasir**
The current focus of REDD is primarily on tropical forests, however, the Bali Action Plan recognises that actions to support REDD can also promote other benefits such as biodiversity conservation. Recent research has shown that mountain temperate forests store 153 tC ha-1 against the IPCC default value of 124 tC ha-1 (Keith et al 2009). While according to the same report the tropical wet forests store 231 tC ha-1 , and tropical mountain forests store 167 tC ha-1. In addition to their role in carbon sequestration, three of the four major biodiversity priorities in terrestrial ecosystems overlap in the temperate forest of western Himalayas (UNEP 2008). Pakistan has a land area of 77.088 m ha of which 3.084 million ha are designated as forests with a potential to store 389 m t C. Nepal is one of the REDD countries in South Asia and has almost equal forest areas of 3.9 m ha. This paper argues that although Pakistan is rated as a low forest cover country LFCC and a low priority REDD candidate has in fact an equally important role and potential to contribute to REDD as for example, Nepal or PNG. The analysis of C sequestration potential of seven selected UN REDD countries including Nepal and PNG shall be given in the main paper.
The temperate landscape of northern Pakistan (AJK, KPK, and Punjab) would be an excellent candidate for a REDD+ project. The managed forests in this area cover over 1.0 million ha of reserve, protected and Guzarra forests (Ahmed and Mahmood 1998, FAO 2010) with a potential sink of 153 million tC. There are no reliable data on the extend of actual forest cover, however based on deforestation rates (Fisher, et al 2010 ) it would be safe to assume 50 per cent forest cover or only about 0.5 m full density forests and 0.5 m of degraded or deforested forest lands. A scope of future REDD+ project should include reforestation of 0.5 m ha of forest lands, and an equal area of the denuded landscapes adjoining the managed forests. The total area of 1.5 m ha will provide a potential carbon sink for 230 m tC. It is estimated that temperate forests sequester an average of 2.4 tC ha-1 yr-1 (McGuire 2010) and thus 1.5 ha forests would have net primary production of 3.6 m tC yr-1 with a recurring annual return of 54 million dollars per year at an average rate of $15 t-1 carbon credits.
Thus it can be argued that a REDD+ project in Pakistan would be a win-win opportunity for all stakeholders – global benefits in terms of carbon sink plus conservation of biodiversity, national benefits will include the foregoing plus increased life of dams, sustainable development at the local level (green jobs, and sustained income from carbon credits). The benefits from ecosystem services will far exceed the income from logging, however strong political commitment and complete transformation of the forestry sector will be necessary for REDD to be a success in Pakistan. In addition, this paper analyzes the Carbon sequestration potential of the 3.084 m ha of Pakistan’s forests viz a viz the UN REDD countries.
References
FAO. 2010. Gobal Forest Resource Assessment. FAO Forestry Paper 163. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. 340 pp.
Ahmed, J., and F. Mahmood. 1998. Changing perspectives on forest policy -Policy that works for Forests and People (Pakistan). International Institute for Environment and Development, United Kingdom.
Fischer, K. M., M. H. Khan, A. K. Gandapur, A. L. Rao, R. M. Zareef, H. Marwat. 2010. Study on timber harvesting ban in NWFP, Pakistan. Pak-Swiss Integrated Natural Resource Project, Inter Coopration, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Keith, H., B. G. MacKay, D. B. Lindenmayer. 2009. Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world’s most carbon dense forests. PNAS Vol. 106. No. 28.
Mc Guire, C. J. 2010. A case for carbon sequestration potential of land use policy favoring regrowth and long term protection of temperate forests. Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol 3, No.1.
UNEP 2008. Carbon and Biodiversity: A demonstration Atlas. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, United Nations Environment Programme, Cambridge, UK.
*Javed Ahmed joined the Forest Service in Pakistan after receiving a B. Sc Honors degree in Forestry from Pakistan Forest College Peshawar in 1969. He has a Ph. D. from Colorado State University. He retired from IUCN in 2002 and now works occasionally as a freelance consultant.
**Syed Mahmood Nasir holds a masters degree in forestry from PFI, post graduate diploma in GIS from ITC the Netherlands and is pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. He is currently serving as the Inspector General of Forests in the Ministry of Environmental, amongst other desks he is the national focal point for REDD.
Discerning facts from fiction in Hazara and Malakand Northern Pakistan: Can REDD+ reverse the growing deforestation and degradation of forests?
Syed Mahmood Nasir* and Ch Javed Ahmed**
Pakistan is reported to have lost 0.625 m ha or 25% of its forests between 1990 -2005. The basis of these estimates and causes of deforestation at the country level are not well documented. However, relatively detailed information is available on deforestation and forest degradation for Hazara and Malakand civil divisions, which have the highest percentage of forests in the country. Therefore, these forests were selected for an analysis of the situation and examination of the potential of REDD+ to reverse the processes of deforestation and degradation.
Fischer, et al (2010) reported that in Hazara and Malakand forested areas decreased from 677,230 ha to 570,221 ha (15.8%) over a period of 12 years (1996-2008). This change in land use added 93,815 ha of forest-land into rangeland and 13,194 ha into agricultural use. In addition to net loss of forest, in the same period, forest degradation resulted in 32 per cent decrease in high-density, 27 per cent decrease in medium-density forest while low density forest increased by 3 per cent. The above deforestation and degradation took place despite the ban on logging, and heavy donor funding for forestry sector development and institutional reform in Khyber Pakhtukhwa (KP). The three main underlying causes for loss of forests are (a) legal rights, (b) heavy dependence on wood for fuel, and (c) heavy grazing pressure. Some 95 per cent of the local population uses wood an annual consumption of 5.0 m m3d was estimated in 1995/96 (HESS, 1992).
Major stakeholders in the region are local communities who have rights over 62.7 per cent of forest (protected forests) and own 29.7 per cent of the forests (Guzarra forests). The Government, a minority stakeholder with ownership of only 7.6 per cent of the forest (Reserve forests) controls all the forests. The forests continue to be lost and degraded due to lack of political will and non-availability of any option/ policy instrument in order for the Forestry Department to change. After a Joint Donor Review Mission in 2001, the donors withdrew support to the forestry sector due to slow and in part adverse adoption of the new policies and institutional reforms. The paper argues that reducing emissions from deforestation appears to be the only option as it would ultimately create market based linkage between the communities, tonnes of carbon stored in forests and carbon markets. A strong MRV system will ensure transparency in all transactions.
This paper also analyzes the possibility of initiating a REDD program in Hazara and Malakand civil divisions keeping in view the existing local legislation, traditions, customs and forest department’s perspectives. The paper proposes some viable options for institutional and policy reforms that will work for the forests and people and would serve as a model for initiation of REDD projects in all other areas.
References:
Fischer, K. M., M. H. Khan, A. K. Gandapur, A. L. Rao, R. M. Zareef, H. Marwat. 2010. Study on timber harvesting ban in NWFP, Pakistan. Pak-Swiss Integrated Natural Resource Project, Inter Coopration, Peshawar, Pakistan.
*Syed Mahmood Nasir holds a masters degree in forestry from PFI, post graduate diploma in GIS from ITC the Netherlands and is pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. He is presently serving as the Inspector General of Forests in the Ministry of Environmental, amongst other desks he is the national focal point for REDD.
**Javed Ahmed joined the Forest Service in Pakistan after receiving a B. Sc Honors degree in Forestry from Pakistan Forest College Peshawar in 1969. He has a Ph. D. from Colorado State University. He retired from IUCN in 2002 and now works occasionally as a freelance consultant.
An assessment of institutional framework and legal challenges for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in Pakistan
Nadeem Bokhari*
Syed Mahmood Nasir**
Future financing in the forestry sector will be through REDD+ as compared to the past practice of bilateral or multilateral projects being implemented in developing countries. It is now widely accepted that the best way to curb deforestation is through REDD/REDD+ mechanisms that will arrange/provide market based funds for forest conservation based on firm commitments by the developing countries to reduce deforestation rates and improve carbon stocks in those forests. This paper analyzes REDD + scope and potential as well as the steps needed to operationalize the concept. The paper argues that the countries participating in these projects will have to demonstrate through transparent and verifiable means that they have reduced deforestation and degradation trends based on the agreed reference scenario.
The paper takes stock of Pakistan’s readiness to participate in REDD/REDD+ programme and knows how to proceed at the National, provincial and community level to improve governance of the forestry sector. The review entails policy, legal aspects, social/ community participation, means of verification, existing baselines, permanence, existing standards and linkages to the voluntary and formal carbon markets. It also reviews the options for Pakistan in current negotiations and likely positions for Pakistan to show an interest in its forestry sector.
The paper discusses the institutional framework in the forestry sector and measures needed to align it to meet the requirements of REDD/REDD+. It also touches upon the rights issue particularly those of the carbon sequestered.
 *Nadeem Bukhari currently holds a position of Project Coordinator for Integrated Natural Resource Management Project (INRM-P) in Pakistan. He is also a fellow of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International.
** Syed Mahmood Nasir holds a masters degree in forestry from PFI, post graduate diploma in GIS from ITC the Netherlands and is pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. He is currently serving as the Inspector General of Forests in the Ministry of Environmental, amongst other desks he is the national focal point for REDD.
Estimation of carbon stocks in subtropical managed and unmanaged forests of Pakistan
Syed Moazzam Nizami*
Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations over the last 150 years and the increasingly dramatic effects of climate change on ecosystems and humankind have reinvigorated the need to understand the terrestrial global carbon cycle. Forest ecosystems are of particular importance because they contain up to 82 percent of the terrestrial plant biomass, which is inter-linked with atmospheric CO2 levels through the carbon cycle. This importance has been recognized within global agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, which is designed to address climate change. In order to meet the requirements of this and similar agreements, we need reliable estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes. These have so far been lacking for many of the forest ecosystems of Pakistan. I quantified the mean forest carbon stocks (t ha-1) for two major forest types in Pakistan and investigated the uncertainty of these estimates at three levels of sampling intensity.
Overall, 261 plots of 1 ha each were established in four selected sites, two in sub-tropical pine forests (Ghoragali 1729 ha and Lehterar 1254 ha) and two sub-tropical, broad-leaved, evergreen forests (Sohawa 4048 ha and Kherimurat 3360 ha) between 2005-08, representing a sampling intensity of 2.5 percent of the total forest area.
In the mature (~100 years old) pine forest stand at Ghoragali and Lehterar sites, a mean basal area of 30.38 and 26.11 m2 ha-1 represented mean volume of 243 and 197m3 ha-1 respectively. The average biomass (t ha-1) in both sites was 237 and 186 t ha -1 respectively which is equal to 128 and 100 t C ha-1 including soil C. However, on average basis both the forests have 114.5+ 2.26 t ha-1 of carbon stock which comprises of 92 percent tree biomass and only 8 percent top soils. In mixed broad-leaved evergreen forests a mean basal area (m2 ha-1) at Kherimurat and Sohawa was 3.06 and 2.65 with stem volume of 12.86 and 11.40 m3 ha-1. The average upper and understorey biomass (t ha-1) in both sites was 50.93 and 40.43 t ha -1 respectively which is equal to 31.18 and 24.36 t C ha-1 including soil C stocks. This study provides a protocol and valuable baseline data for monitoring biomass and carbon stocks in Pakistan’s managed and unmanaged sub-tropical forests.
Reducing the sampling intensity from the standard 2.5 percent of total forest area to 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 percent of total forest area did not increase the coefficient of variation or uncertainty associated with the mean estimated forest C in these forests. However, at a sampling intensity of 0.1 percent, there was a marked increase in estimate uncertainty. One of the important recommendations of the study is that 1.0 percent sampling intensity is adequate for future studies in sub tropical pine and broadleaved evergreen forests.
* Dr. Syed Moazzam Nizami is an Associate Professor at the Arid Agriculture University in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
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