| Policy
and legislation
On the national level
the Forest Policy has had an evolutionary
history. Before partition the Forest
Act of 1927 was operational The
first forest policy of Pakistan
was declared in 1955 and updated
in 1992, 1975, 1980 and 1988 as
part of the National Agricultural
Policy. The most recent changes
have been the notification of the
National Forest Policy in 1991 and
is the most recent and integrated
formal policy on the federal level
(Ahmed and Mahmood, 1998). All these
policies seemed more fixed on forest
protection and productivity than
on people issues. It was only in
1991 that the policy called for
integrated use of public forest
resources in conformity with wildlife
conservation, environmental and
social needs (ibid.).
A 2001 draft
of the National Forest Policy has
been prepared which is also applicable
to the Northern Areas. It emphasizes
the sustainable use of natural resources
with community participation and
recommends that timber harvesting
be used for poverty alleviation.
It also aims to rehabilitate the
environment.
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