The deforestation rate in Pakistan at 0.2 to 0.5 percent annually is estimated highest in the world and accounts for a four to six percent decline in its wood bio-mass per annum. The total natural forest cover is reducing from 3.5 million hectares annually. The decline in natural forests is attributed greatly to the dependence of a major proportion of rural population on wood for fuel and construction.
The natural resource is decreasing at such an alarming speed that all the forest area could be consumed within the next 15 years. Three sectors, namely domestic rural use, industrial sector and commercial establishments consume wood in Pakistan. The household sector has emerged as the largest consumer with 81.8 percent, followed by industrial entrepreneurs 14.9 percent and commercial sector 3.3 percent. The annual wood consumption in Pakistan is 43.761 million meters against the annual forest growth of 14.4 million cubic meters. So, it has to suffer a loss of 29.361 million cubic meters per annum.
Less than 2.5 of the land in Pakistan is forested and this is decreasing rapidly due to an annual deforestation rate of over two percent, one of the highest in the world. Also, a 2006 government reported stated that current timber resources would be totally consumed within 15 years.
The Al-mighty Allah has blessed Pakistan by many things one of them are forests. Less than five percent of its total area is under forest. Alpine Forests Coniferous, Dry Temperate, Tropical Thorn or Rakh, Mangroves, Riverine or Bela Plantations are the type of forests recognised in Pakistan, but unfortunately, like many other things, we are continuously destructing this blessing. The rate of deforestation of 1.5 percent is very alarming.
According to FAO, around 2.2 percent or nearly 1,687,000 ha of Pakistan is forested. Of this, 20.2 percent (340,000 ha) is classified as primary forest, the most bio-diverse and carbon-dense form of forest. Pakistan had 340,000 of planted forest. Due to the changes during 1990 and 2010, Pakistan lost an average of 42,000 ha or 1.66 per year of forest cover. Later, between 1990 and 2010, it lost 33.2 percent of its forest cover or around 840,000 ha. Between 1990 and 2005, Pakistan lost 24.7 percent of its forest cover or around 625,000 hectares.