An editorial 'Micro forest for Lahore' in Business Recorder a couple of months ago had pointed out that "As compared to the world average Pakistan is a grossly forest deficit country. Not only have we failed to make any meaningful effort to replenish the dwindling forests, thanks to the lumber mafia and corrupt foresters, we are also not doing anything to protect the ones that are now being mercilessly chopped."

There are many reasons for deforestation in the country. One of these is fuel wood as a very large number of people in KP and Northern Areas are still using wood for cooking food. In these areas fuel wood is an important component of household economies.

Tehsin Yawar (Peshawar)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021