Environmental Degradation in Azad Kashmir(Letter from Press for Peace) by Ejaz Ur-Rehman and Zafar Iqbal

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Wednesday, 6 August 2008

Environmental degradation in Azad Kashmir

Ejaz Ur Rehman and Zafar Iqbal

Images: Hanif Gharib, Asif Mir

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Everyone has the rights to life, no matter who they are or wherethey live. Nearly every government in the world promised toprotect, respect and fulfill these rights, yet human rights are still

violated worldwide. At the Millennium Summit, world leaderscommitted themselves to halving the number of people living inextreme poverty, (i.e. those with income less than one dollar aday), by 2015. Poverty is directly linked to the economic policiesand activities. Poverty is not just about lack of resources. In adeveloping world it is about bad decisions made by powerful andinfluential people.

Poverty, disease and misery, along with environmentaldegradation and destruction of forests, are great concerns in Azad

Jammu and Kashmir. Though in recent years some interventionshave been made by state and none state organisations tointroduce concepts of sustainable livelihood and the preservationof natural resources in Azad Kashmir, the earthquake affectedarea is the focus of all these developmental efforts. In comparisonthe rest of the area, particularly the states South zone, has beenneglected in policy formation and implementation. Contrary to ageneral perception of improvement of socio-economic conditionsof this zone, there are various areas in Kotli District where the

local populations live in extreme poverty and lack the most basiclife essentials. The village of Barali Kass of Kotli is a majorexample of this. The village situated only 15 KM from Kotli cityand is a huddle of houses located on a barren slope of rocky hills.

Life is harsh in Barali Kass. The overall living conditions ofmajority of locals are very poor and they suffer the worst effectsof social, economic and environmental problems. Inadequatetransportation has serious impacts on their lives and welfare ofdue to the lack of proper and appropriate road link with the Kotlicity. The dilapidated Barali Kass road is at present the only way ofcommunication.

In spite of claims by the present government about the provisionof basic health and education facilities to the people of the state,Barali Kass presents a different picture. The Village Barali Kass

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and its allied areas (Fafeel,Dhar,Seri and Mankasl) are without anymedical facility despite modern medical and scientificdevelopment. The local patients, particularly the old and pregnantwomen have to cover a long distance to reach the nearest

hospital and unfortunately many die en route. Similarly, lack ofeducation facilities in Dhar and Seri is also detrimental.

The complex structure of local forests in the area offers a greatdiversity of habitats. Few other habitats contains such a diverserange of trees and medicinal plants, but poverty and ignoranceforces local communities to exploit natural resources andexacerbate problem like deforestation. In the area Forestryprojects have not related much with the concept of landscapeprotection. Woodland degradation has devastated swathes of

forest. Sustainable forest management and conservation is thesource of conflict between the government and dependentcommunities. Some of the Government owned forest areas havebeen occupied by local influential people. Furthermore, this trendof occupation on government owned forests by the localcommunities is also a permanent cause of conflict in the area, asthe there have been quarrels among these occupants over thepossession of so called disputed lands.

The deforestation in area of Barali Kass is not merely anenvironmental, economic or a technical problem but also asociological and behavioural one. The forest habitat managementin the area is unsustainable and lacks popular public participation.

The top-down command and control system support massiveresource abuse. Poverty and unawareness, coupled with lack ofeducation, are the major causes of deforestation and habitat loss.

The timber mafia generates anti-conservation anger in the area.Illegal logging and fire are destroying many of the forest habitats.

The forest clearance, especially of ancient woods in the area,yields a financial profit but has many adverse side effects: soilerosion, nutrient loss, water pollution, landslides, flooding,reduced wildlife habitat, loss of recreational value, loss of speciesdiversity, increased fire hazards, and increased risks from insectsand disease.

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Protected areas are one of the most effective tools for conservingspecies and natural habitats in the world. They also contribute tothe livelihoods and well-being of local communities and bring a

multitude of economic and cultural benefits to locals. These areasare the cornerstone of all national and regional biodiversityconservation strategies. They give many indigenous peoples vitalprotection and space where they can continue traditionallifestyles that are often impossible elsewhere.

Bearing this in mind, we consider the best option to conserve thiswealth of resources of the Barali Kass is to declare it a highlyprotected area. In addition, suffering of the local people could belessened by: the establishment of Basic Health Unit (BHU) in the

area, construction, improvement and maintenance of the roadfrom Barali to Mansooh and some linked roads, up-gradation ofthe primary school in Kass and the launching of awarenessprograms about impacts of deforestation and environmentaldegradation.

Posted by PFP Team at 17:16

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Documents

Environmental Degradation in Azad Kashmir(Letter from Press for Peace) by Ejaz Ur-Rehman and Zafar Iqbal