The Juniper Forests
The Junipers - the tree at right may be read as
"Allah" in Arabic (right photo courtesy:
Autumn Sun and Autumn Colours (www.flickr.com) The Juniper forests of Balochistan are an ecological and cultural treasure of
the country. These rare and centuries old forests are located in Ziarat and
Zargoon areas of Balochistan. Junipers are one of the slowest growing trees in
the world and are therefore often called “living fossils” Although they are also
found in some other parts of Pakistan, Balochistan’s Junipers are one of the
biggest blocks in the world. But all that is slowly changing. Where there was
lush green density only a few decades ago, one can now see wasteland patches.
Similarly one can also observe lesser number of smaller offshoots around the
bigger trees.
Near
Ziarat, the second largest Juniper forests in the world after
the Junipers of California, some as old as
57000 years are located. The hills around Ziarat are covered with juniper
trees, thickest on the north, south and east sides. The juniper tracts along
with its range lands, cover an area of approximately seven hundred thousand
acres of which 2.30,000 acres are the State forest. Average age of the extremely
slow growing juniper trees is 300 years. Juniper berries are used as flavor. Oil
is also extracted from these trees which has a number of uses. Medical herbs
like Epherda, Artimesia and mint etc are also produced. Fragrant lavender hushes
cover almost the entire landscape from July to October. However, almost 30-40% of this unique reservoir is
suffering from a deadly disease "MASULLTO" (“Tasma Pa” in local language)
for which there appears to be no remedy, except to cut down the infected part or
the whole plant, besides being excessively cut by locals for
use as firewood. Lot needs to be done to conserve this natural treasure.
Read More about efforts at
hand. Juniper trees grow an inch every
year and is among the few trees that can survive the harsh desert conditions of
Balochistan province. The trees divert rainwater into the ground, replenishing
underground water supplies, which in turn, irrigate the soil. Juniper
provide shaded walks and hilly tracks in different directions of the valley.
Every walk unfolds a singular spectacle of exceptional scenic beauty.
Studies also reveal that Zargoon is richer in plant
diversity and in wildlife species than any area found anywhere in the Juniper
ecosystem. Apart from its ecological significance, people living in the Zargoon
Juniper mountains possess a rich indigenous knowledge of the local plant
resources; a character that is eroding fast in the rest of Pakistan. WWF -
Pakistan has already disseminated key information on Zargoon juniper forest and
developed plans to continue its conservation efforts till these forests and
other contiguous forest areas, such as Herboi of Kalat, are given adequate
protection. Although the Government of
Pakistan in collaboration with the donor countries is making concerted efforts
to save these forests and encourage the locals not to cut the trees for firewood
and has attempted to help save the forest by providing 7,000 cylinders of free
propane gas to discourage people from harvesting the juniper firewood for fuel.
But due to non availability of gas refills, the cutting and the disease
continues. A number of programmes have been
initiated by the Pakistan Forest Institute, the Forest Department of Balochistan
and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to save Juniper Forests. The Forest
Department is executing an extensive project under the Balochistan Natural
Resource Management Project (BNRMP) while WWF Pakistan is working with the local
communities to protect this natural heritage. The project is a part of WWF-Pakistan’s
Environmental Education Programme. It focuses on conservation and environmental
issues linked to poverty. The project was aimed at creating awareness among
communities about the ecological importance of Juniper tract through meetings
and workshops.
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