Our ancient pine forests in Sherani, once crowned as green gold and blanketing rugged mountains, now crumble to ashes due to persistent wildfires. These fires have been ravaging global green cover, threatening both livelihood and biodiversity. In Pakistan, the forests of edible pine nut (Pinus gerardiana) are the most threatened, with far reaching economic and environmental consequences. Pine forests make up about 20% of Pakistan’s total forest cover, contributing to carbon sequestration, providing non-timber forest products, and serving as habitats for countless species. Together, they play an important role in maintaining the ecological and environmental balance.
Over the past decade, the phenomenon of forest fires has become a topic of discussion across the country. After 2020, the incidents of wildfires have surged in Pakistan’s provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In 2022, between May and June alone, 283 fire incidents were reported by the KPK’s Forestry, Environment, and Wildlife Department in the province. The devastating wildfire that swept through Sherani’s pine forests in the Sulaiman Mountains in May 2022 resonated with communities across borders. On social media, people poured in their support for the forests, which were vanishing into the air. Nobody knows if the forests in Sherani will grow accustomed to the recurring fires each passing year. Since that unfortunate year, the incidents of wildfires have become all too common.
In Sherani, the livelihood of hundreds of families is tied to the sale and consumption of pine nuts. Harvesting from pine forests is their primary economic activity that sustains the local economy. Since this district is completely rural and mountainous, and is away from urban centers, the literacy rate in the district is the lowest in the province. The residents barely make ends meet and are completely dependent on whatever is on the surface of their land. At the heart of their natural resources lies the pine forests, which now stand at the edge of extinction. According to findings from my postgraduate thesis, The Determinant of Livelihood Among Mountainous Farmers: A Case Study of Sherani, I found that a household, on average, earns over 0.5 million rupees annually from the sale of pine nuts. The findings of this year-long academic field study clearly shows that pine forests are the vital source for the survival of the residents.
The Scale of the Forest and the Cost of Recurring Fires
Sherani’s pine forests span 26,000 acres, and they are among the biggest stands of pine trees in the country. Extending from the Sulaiman mountain range, the Tor Ghar (black mountain in Zhob), Shin Ghar (green mountain) and the Qaise Ghrona (mountains of the Qaise) are all homes to pine trees. Additionally, these forests are also the abodes of other species, including indigenous plants such as wild almond, wild ash, juniper, pistachio (Ozhgai and Sharivan), coniferous and wild olive (Shuvan). Wild cherry, makhi and barberry are the shrubs growing there. A 2013 study in the ‘Pakistan Journal of Forestry’ noted that wild goat, wild cat, Sulaiman Markhor and golden eagle are among several birds and animals that have been preserving the cultural value of this mountainous district.
Pakistan is the fifth-largest producer of pine nuts in the world, with the Sherani pine forest as the biggest contributor nationally. As reported by Rafi Ullah Mandokhail, a Baluchistan-based journalist, the forests of pine in the Sulaiman range contribute to national production by 74 percent. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s press release, the local community in Sherani had raised 3.5 billion rupees in revenues in 2021. It is further noted that the pine trees on a 31-square-kilometer area were either damaged or burned in 2022, and the production capacity of the forests significantly declined in subsequent years. While containing the fire that year, two villagers had also lost their lives. On June 13 this year, a wildfire erupted in the forests of Largha and Sapar Shinghar in Sherani, and despite the villagers’ efforts to control it, it remained uncontained for three days. A local jirga, held in the aftermath of the incident, reported to the deputy commissioner’s office, stating that close to fifty thousand trees were burned, and an estimated two hundred tons of nuts were lost to the fire. The price per ton of nuts in a competitive market average at 4 million rupees. The loss is enormous, and those bearing it are already downtrodden.
Why Fires Happen and How Communities and Authorities Respond
With the changing spatio-temporal patterns, the incidents of wildfires are rampant across the globe. It is commonly believed that falling leaves from tall trees during dry and hot summers spark and catch fire; this possibility cannot be ruled out since pine trees usually require warm and dry weather to grow. In Pakistan, wildfires are sometimes caused due to negligence and land disputes. But oftentimes, the locals in Sherani suspect these fires are deliberate arson aimed at taking their livelihood away from them. Elders pointed out in their recent Jirga that many hotspots of fires in Sapar Shin Ghar are near the popular picnic spot, Shinghar Bungalows, a hill station built in the British era, where unattended fires may have ignited the forests. Rivalry among villagers, as identified by a 2019 study, is another reason that causes fires in these forests.
The response to wildfires in the forests of Sherani has been lackluster. Although the 2022 fire made headlines internationally, the Federal and Provincial governments didn’t come to the rescue of this precious national asset, as if protecting tribal assets were not their responsibility. The district-level administration, which is based in Sherani’s former parent district, Zhob, is about 60 km from these forests. To substantiate it, the fire that erupted on May 16, 2022, was taken notice of by the provincial government in June that year. It was only then that an airplane was arranged from Iran to somewhat douse the flames, but by then, tens of thousands of trees had already fallen to ashes. This time again, the people of Sapar were on their own to contain the fire. Ill-equipped and untrained, it was only their sheer will that they used shovels and branches in the containment of flames.
What It Will Take to Safeguard Sherani’s Forests
The path forward is obvious, and what is needed is recognition of the UNESCO-heritage forest by our rulers. Those in Quetta and Islamabad must first acknowledge that fires in the forest of Sherani are not a tribal issue, but a matter of national environmental and economic assets. This is a matter of biodiversity loss, food insecurity, disruption of livelihood, and the collapse of hope, which the next generations will depend on for their survival. A lifeline-like forest of the residents of Sherani can be saved from perishing if the following recommendations are acted upon.
The government must compensate the affected households, construct access routes, and implement the forest law in letter and spirit. The forest guards should be stationed in forests, ensuring they are fully equipped and trained in tackling emergencies. At least five check posts should be established, both in Shin Ghar and Sulaiman Mountains. Watchtowers and surveillance drones should be provided, and the government should make efforts to align them with the World Heritage Online Map Platform (WHOMP) to enable rapid response. On top of that, it is the local community that feels the pain when a tragedy of such proportions arises, so they should be given a stake in the protection of their forests. Non-governmental organizations must come forward with impartial investigative studies and rehabilitation programs. The cause is growing, the response is slow and weak, but the solution is clear. What is needed is swift and collective action so that what remains of Sherani’s green gold can be saved.
Teaser image credit: Sulaiman Mountains from Sherani District. By Aimal Sherani – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31493662