A Nation Standing on the Brink – Pakistan Deforestation Caused 18% Loss of Greenery of its forest cover since 1992

Pakistan has crossed a hazardous environmental tipping point. While once it was blessed with healthy forests that served as a natural barrier against climatic extremes, Pakistan has now lost 18% of its forest cover since 1992. A vulnerable land in which torrential rains unleash killing floods, rangelands become desolate, and climate change increases risks for millions.

Experts claim that the northern water catchments previously robust ecosystems have become “flood factories”. They now direct rain with intensity rather than soaking it up, creating catastrophes like the 1992, 2010, and 2025 floods, which combined displaced millions and destroyed billions worth of infrastructure and crops.

Why Forests Were Pakistan’s First Line of Defence

Forests are not only green vistas; they are natural protectors. They retain rainwater, replenish groundwater, control temperature, and avert soil erosion. With them gone, Pakistan has lost a valuable climate protection system.

Now, denuded hills are unable to prevent rain from falling, rivers overflow wildly, and agricultural land turns barren under silt deposits. This unraveling of the ecosystem is not a pure environmental concern it poses an open threat to agriculture, the economy, and even national security.

Numbers That Tell a Grim Story

In 1992, Pakistan was losing approximately 40,000 hectares of forests every year. Years of awareness and plantation campaigns have been able to bring down that number to 11,000 hectares in 2025. While it may seem like an achievement, experts warn that deforestation is still taking place and even minor annual losses add up to ruinous destruction.

• With each lost hectare, Pakistan moves closer to climate extremes:
• Agriculture suffers as irrigation channels dry up and fertile soil erodes.
• Urban cities flood as rainwater lacks a natural cushion.
• Wildlife habitats disappear, speeding up biodiversity loss.
• Rural economies crumble, forcing individuals into poverty cycles.

The Human Cost of Deforestation

Behind numbers are human stories. Punjab and Sindh farmers narrate how rains that previously irrigated their fields now flood their crops. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa families, who previously benefited from forest wood and grazing grasslands, now experience dwindling resources. Every flood sees devastation carrying away homes, livestock, and hard-earned savings.

This ecological unraveling is generating climate refugees inside Pakistan, compelling families to leave ancestral domains in pursuit of secure terra firma. The price is not just economic it is cultural, emotional, and intergenerational.

Can Pakistan Turn Back the Damage?

Experts maintain that Pakistan still has a slim window of opportunity. Reversal of degraded land, mass reforestation, and enforcement of forest protection laws are on a war footing. Some suggested measures are:

• Scaling up plantation projects with indigenous species that naturally adapt to local climates.
• Protecting existing forests through stronger surveillance against illegal logging and encroachments.
• Incentivizing communities with alternative livelihoods so that forests are preserved rather than exploited.
• Integrating climate resilience into national planning, recognizing that environmental security is tied to economic and political stability.

Without these interventions, Pakistan risks repeating the cycle of catastrophic floods every decade, with escalating intensity.

Pakistan Deforestation Caused 18% Loss of Greenery. Forests are not just about greenery; they are about survival, food security, and stability. If the country continues to “bleed forest cover” every year, no dam or infrastructure project will be strong enough to withstand nature’s fury.

The era of lukewarm plantation drives and paper policies is behind us. Pakistan requires immediate restoration, unflinching policies, and a national forestry movement. Anything less, the next flood might not only wash away villages it might wash away the nation’s strength.

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