LAHORE: The World Wide Fund for Nature
Pakistan has appreciated the suo mottu notice by
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif
of illegal occupation of 759 hectares of forest
land in Murree.
According to a press release on Monday,
Ali Hassan Habib, Director General WWF, said, “The Medium Term
Development Framework 2005-2010 of the government emphasised
sustainable development and environment and had set the
target of increasing forest cover to 5.2% in 2010 and 6%
in 2015.”
Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) indicate that Pakistan’s forest is only 3.1%, the lowest in
South Asia. The coniferous forest of this area is a part of
the Western Himalayan Ecoregion which is globally recognized
for its unique and rich biodiversity, he said.
Considering the ecological importance of the area, the
government of Punjab had notified Murree, Kotli Sattain and
Kahuta as a National Park in 2009, he added.