ISLAMABAD, 7 Feb: According to a recent research study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Pakistan has lost 20% of its forests to urbanization in the past 24 years.
The study mentioned that Pakistan has the world’s lowest forest rate, with just over 5% of the area covered by trees.
Reasons
PIDE research mentioned factors like rapid population growth, urbanization, poverty, and energy shortages to be the main drivers of deforestation.
The phenomenon is more apparent in major cities like Islamabad and Lahore, where mega-infrastructure projects and massive road structures have taken a toll on forestation.
PIDE emphasizes the need for increased forest cover, stating that a country ideally should have 25% forest cover for a healthy environment.
The study claimed that the forest cover in Pakistan is significantly lower than the average value of 31.2% worldwide, 18.9% in South Asia, 24.4% in India and 14.5% in Bangladesh.
