Saving Woodlands, Groves, and Forests of Gilgit-Baltistan—The First and Most Crucial Step in Climate Resilience
Climate change is no longer a distant or abstract threat for Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). As Rosham Din Diamiri rightly points out, global warming may be a worldwide crisis, but its effects are disproportionately severe for high-mountain regions like GB—home to fragile ecosystems, dense glacier systems, climate-sensitive valleys, and a population deeply dependent on natural resources for survival.
Yet one core problem repeatedly undermines all climate adaptation efforts: the rapid depletion of the region’s woodlands, groves, and forests—a crisis driven primarily by the lack of accessible and affordable alternate energy resources. If this foundational issue is not addressed first, all other climate strategies will remain incomplete, and even ineffective.
Why Gilgit-Baltistan Stands at the Frontline of Climate Impacts
GB’s geography places it in a zone highly vulnerable to:
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Accelerated glacier melt
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Higher frequency of flash floods
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Unpredictable precipitation
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Increased landslides
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Loss of biodiversity
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Decline in agricultural productivity
The region’s natural forests—chinar, mulberry, willow, birch, juniper, walnut, apricot groves and multiple indigenous species—act as natural climate stabilisers. They regulate water cycles, control soil erosion, reduce the intensity of floods, and preserve the ecological balance.
But these forests are vanishing at a pace never witnessed before.
Deforestation: The Silent Emergency
More than 80% of rural households in GB rely on firewood for heating and cooking because electricity is unreliable, expensive, or insufficient; LPG is scarce; and modern energy solutions have not reached remote valleys.
This forces communities to cut ancient groves and woodlands—trees that have taken centuries to grow but only minutes to fell.
Key drivers include:
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Lack of affordable alternate energy sources
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Bitter winters requiring months of heating
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Absence of forest protection systems
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Commercial timber smuggling
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Unregulated chainsaws and sawmills
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Population pressure
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Lack of political ownership
The result is a climate feedback loop:
more deforestation → more soil erosion → more floods → more poverty → more tree-cutting → intensified climate deterioration.
Unless this loop is broken, GB will continue to move toward irreversible ecological decline.
The First Step: Provide Alternate Energy Solutions
Before demanding that communities stop cutting trees, the state must provide them with viable options. A realistic forestry conservation plan for GB must begin with a region-wide transition from wood-fuel dependency to cleaner energy.
Priority Energy Alternatives Include:
1. Micro-Hydel Power Projects
GB has thousands of streams; micro-hydel plants are low-cost, community-managed, and environmentally safe.
2. Solar Heating and Cooking Units
Solar water heaters and solar cookstoves can drastically reduce winter firewood consumption.
3. Subsidised LPG and Strategic Storage Hubs
Winter stockpiles should be created before snowfall blocks access routes.
4. Grid Expansion and Stabilisation
Reliable electricity supply reduces the need for wood-based heating.
5. Electrified Heating Solutions
Energy-efficient heating systems, subsidised for mountain households, can directly reduce logging pressure.
Providing energy alternatives is not a luxury—it is a climate necessity.
Saving the Remaining Woodlands and Groves
Once alternate energy is ensured, GB can move towards active forest conservation:
1. Immediate Ban on Chainsaws in Forest Zones
Unregulated chainsaws are responsible for rapid forest denudation.
2. Community Forest Protection Committees
Local people protect what they feel ownership of.
3. Protection of Ancient Trees as Heritage Assets
Centuries-old chinar, apricot, poplar, and walnut trees should be legally declared “living monuments.”
4. Forest Guards and Satellite Monitoring
Surveillance systems can reduce illegal timber activity.
5. Reforestation with Native Species
Fast-growing exotics must be avoided; indigenous species maintain ecological balance.
Political Responsibility: A Climate Agenda for Every Party
Diamiri’s demand is timely: political parties must integrate climate resilience in their manifestos—and not as a token paragraph, but as a central theme.
Each party should publicly present:
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A clear climate protection framework
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A regional deforestation control plan
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A roadmap for renewable energy access
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A sustainable forestry legislation package
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A valley-level disaster response mechanism
Climate issues can no longer be sidelined as “environmental”—they are economic, social, and existential.
Public Participation: The People Must Ask the Tough Questions
The people of GB must demand action:
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What is your party’s plan to save our forests?
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How do you intend to provide alternate energy?
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How will you protect glaciers and water sources?
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What policies will prevent illegal logging?
Without public pressure, climate protection will remain rhetoric.
Conclusion:
Climate Survival Starts With Protecting Gilgit-Baltistan’s Forests**
Gilgit-Baltistan will not withstand the accelerating climate shocks if its woodlands, groves, and natural forests continue to vanish. Without an immediate halt to deforestation, the region’s ecological foundation will collapse—and with it the stability of Pakistan’s water resources.
Alternate energy is not an option; it is the single most critical gateway to saving GB’s forests. And saving these forests is, in turn, the gateway to climate security, water security, and regional survival.
If Gilgit-Baltistan—and indeed Pakistan, whose very rivers and agriculture depend on this mountain region—want a livable future, then the path forward is unmistakably clear and urgent:
Begin by protecting the forests, and provide the people the alternate energy they need to stop cutting them.
Everything else comes after.
Provide the people alternate energy—and save the forests before they are gone forever.
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