II: Review of literature
Author name
Title and keywords
Main summary and conclusion
Methodology
Ali, J. Benjaminsen, T. A. Hammad, A. A. & Dick, O. B. (2005)
"The Road to Deforestation: An Assessment of Forest Loss and its Causes
in Basho Valley, Northern Pakistan"
Global Environmental Change 15 (2005)
370-380.
Keywords:
Deforestation; Forest management; Himalayas; Pakistan
The area where this research has been conducted is Basho valley which is located in Batistan region in the northern areas of Pakistan. The valley ascends from the southern side of the Indus River with the altitude of 2060 approximately above the level of the sea towards Banak La Mountain at 5500m.
The findings show that the forest has been decreased 50% in Basho valley and the rate decreased after establishment of the valley in 1968.
1950 people of the population of the valley which depends on the forest for energy necessities, cooking purposes, and heating.
The theory of huge deforestation due to fast population growth and local use; the study did not support this theory.
The study indicates that the improved convenience combined with mismanagement of the forest department which is main factor in deforestation in Basho valley. The forest department is very much involved in deforestation as they support all the illegal commercial harvesting on a large scale.
Damage to the forest in the valley has done due to the authorities of the superiors in forest department. A lot of woods which is fallen or green from the valley forest has been taken by the outsiders or the contractors using some informal permits which is called chits and the officers of the government department has given incentives from this systems by receiving payments.
As by local elders the contractors took wood around ten times more than the quota which was allocated to them officially for the construction of government buildings. The contractors then sell out the woods in Skardu market to earn or they build their own shops and houses.
The result of the corrupt performance or activities done by the government faculty or the increased access to a forest in the last thirty years; the forest has been reduced significantly.
The methodology which is used in the study is that the qualitative data which has been selected for the study by the author in 8 years.
During this period of time he meet with the officers of forest department, he also get interacted with the forest contractors and few people of the valley which includes men and women.
Interviews has been conducted which was both individual and group in the three different workshops which was conducted by Agha Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) and the Norwegian University of Life Science. At least ten people attended the workshop who was representative of the different villages near Basho valley.
Some meetings were also arranged in each village.
Almost 95 people attended all the workshops in which 65 were women and 30 were men.
The interview has also taken by the officers of the Basho development organization.
As like this several interviews were conducted there in valley from local jeep owners who transport woods to the people, from the local volunteers and 16 stakeholders in which two were women and 14 were men.
Survey was also conducted in different villages with different group discussions and some key respondent interviews and this period was of six months. These fieldworks were also consisted of survey of price, natural resource and village profiles.
For the improving of historic information about Basho valley's forest; two pictures were taken, the first one is Landsat Multispectral scanner (MSS) image which was of 20 July 1976 and Landsat-7(ETM+) image which was of 16 august 2002.
Khan, S. R.& khan, S. R. (2009)
"Assessing Poverty: Deforestation Links: Evidence from Swat, Pakistan"
Ecological Economics 68 (2009) 2607-2618
Keywords:
Ecological degradation
Deforestation
Poverty
Local institutions
