Pakistan needs to urgently reforest areas hit by the country’s recent earthquake, according to environment minister Tahir Iqbal.
Mr Iqbal said landslides in deforested areas killed many of the 73,000 who died in the disaster. He said landslides did not occur in forested regions.
The government is planning to protect remaining forests by distributing LPG gas to communities, reducing their dependence on wood for fuel and heating.
UN environment programme deputy chief executive diector Shafqat Kakakhel has expressed concern that the “timber mafia” would use quake survivors’ need for fuel as an excuse for continuing their destruction of forestry resources.
