WWF - Pakistan appreciates the suo moto notice taken by the Chief Justice Lahore High Court, Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, regarding the illegal occupation of 759 hectares of prime forest land in Murree.  Mr. Babar Hassan Bharwana, Secretary Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries, personally appeared in the court for the hearing. WWF - Pakistan was also present and was keen to become a part or it. WWF-Pakistan is requesting that the court takes actions to block the future conversion of forest areas. It also reviews all past incidences where forests have been used for unplanned development.  WWF - Pakistan urges that the court orders the re-possession of as much forest area as possible. The next hearing of the case will be on 2nd March 2010.

Ali Hassan Habib, Director General, WWF - Pakistan said, ‘The Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2005 – 2010 of the Government of Pakistan emphasis on sustainable development and environment and had set the target of increasing the forest cover to 5.2% in 2010 and 6% in 2015. The statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), State of the World’s Forests published in 2005, indicates that Pakistan’s forest is only 3.1%, lowest in South Asia. The coniferous forest of this area is a part of the Western Himalayan Ecoregion, which is globally recognized for its unique and rich biodiversity.   Considering the ecological importance of the area, the Government of Punjab had notified Murree, Kotli Sattain and Kahuta area as a National Park in 2009. It is important to note that according to the Forest Sector Master Plan of the Ministry of Environment there is only 282 ha for coniferous forest in the Punjab Province.

For further information contact:

Uzma Khan
Manager Conservation Programme
WWF – Pakistan
Tel: 042 111 993 725