Assessment of Deforestation and Forest Degradation drivers in Pallandri Azad Kashmir

Abstract

Forestry sector is one of the main greenhouse gas contributors at global level as Deforestation and Forest Degradation contributes about 1.6 billion tonnes of CO2 to the global annual greenhouse gases emissions. Developing countries accounts for 75% of the emissions because their livelihood depends on forests. Pakistan is one of the top listed countries responsible for GHGs emissions including its subnational unit i.e., Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Therefore drivers responsible for deforestation and forest degradation shall need to be identified to address this issue in more advanced way. Hence the objective of this study was to identify the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Pallandri tehsil of district Sudhnoti, AJK. The results showed that main prioritized drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the study area were Unsustainable Timber Extraction, Infrastructure Development, Encroachment and Mining, Agriculture Expansion for Subsistence, Unsustainable Wood Extraction, Forest Fires, and Livestock Grazing respectively. According to this study, in general the key reasons for deforestation and forest degradation in Pallandri were water scarcity, land sliding and wood shortages.