The Riverine Forests of Pakistan

The riverine forests are locally known as "bela"  in  the provinces of  Sindh and Punjab. The existence of belas depends on flooding by the rivers. They are flooded by the spate of River Indus, Jehlum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej on lands and soils over their banks. Floods occur due to the flow of large quantities of water in the rivers that cannot be accommodated. Both the land configuration and the soils in the riverine tract are made by the flood waters. The spate was a common summer phenomenon in the past, until such a time that the river water  was not  diverted and extracted through dams, barrages, head-works and link-canals.

Once the flood water has passed, it leaves no  record of its quality and quantity except the highest water mark on the vegetation and the soil deposited by it. The growth of the forest vegetation is also a consequence of the flooding from year to year, that of course could be manipulated by the management to its advantage by growing desirable economic species. The flood level has been determining the water regime available for regeneration and growth of trees and other vegetation. The erosion and accretion processes are caused by water-currents that erode and build the forest-land respectively. Loads of varying quantities and qualities of sediments have been determining the soil composition of forest lands, and their water holding capacity.

The Riverine Forests    are the mainstay  of forestry in Sindh. They provide products and services such as  timber; firewood; pit props for mines; forage and browse for livestock, biodiversity and  game animals, other non-timber forest products including tannin from bark, gum, honey and even fish from d hands and d horas (old river beds). They act as carbon sink, moderate climate, stop soil erosion and also protect soils and settlements from  the ferocity of flood waters.

Area, Distribution and Legal Status

The riverine forests extend from bits in the Province of Punjab, covering vast areas in the Province of Sindh. They mainly grow along the River Indus. The river belt between the flood protection embankments ( bund) in the Sindh plain covers about 1.5 million acres. Within this belt, about one third  of the area constitutes forest lands, which is under the control of the Sindh Forest Department. Originally, most of these lands contained natural vegetation.

In Sindh, they mainly occur in Thatta, Haydarabad, Dadu, Larkana, Nawab Shah, Khairpur and Sukkur Districts. The total area of  the state-owned riverine forests in the province 241,120ha in 167 blocks out of which 138, 000 ha is wooded.

In Punjab, the riverine forests are mainly located in Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh Districts. They are also found in Gujrat, Jhung, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Lahore, Jhelum Districts and over small areas which are managed more or less like the irrigated plantations. In  all, they cover an area of 51,305 ha, out of which 27, 071ha, is wooded. The distribution of blank areas in the riverine forests of Punjab into plantable and unplantable is not known. This division even in case of riverine forests of Sindh is not quite reliable. However, the figures contained in table No 1, are based on the estimated findings.

Riverine forests   in Sindh and Punjab.

Source: Rr iverine forests : Forestry Sector Master Plan Project Pakistan- 1991

Most of the riverine forests are known as 'Reserved Forests' or 'Protected Forests' under the "Pakistan Forests Act, 1927". Legally, the use of all forest products by the local people is allowed in  'Protected Forests' prohibited unless specifically prohibited. Whereas, the use of all forest produce is prohibited in a 'Reserved Forest' unless it is specifically allowed. However, in actual practice the law enforcement has been very weak.