Pakistan has only ______ forest cover as opposed to the recommended 25pc

A. 2.5pc
B. 5.7pc
C. 7.5pc
D. 13.7pc

Forest Rate in Pakistan

According to dawn news, Pakistan has only 5.7pc forest cover as opposed to the recommended 25pc. At between 0.2 and 0.5pc, this country has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world and the second highest in the region after Afghanistan.

Effects of Deforestation

The loss of forest cover exacerbates the effects of climate change, opening the door to flash floods and soil erosion, thereby lowering crop yields, destroying local economies and disrupting food supply patterns on a wider scale.

Deforestation is the destruction of natural forests. The felling and clearing of forests, mainly for agriculture and logging, has long been associated with human occupation in temperate regions, but has accelerated rapidly in the late 20th century, especially in the tropics. The annual rate of destruction is estimated to be about 20 million hectares; over 50 per cent of the world’s tropical forest has been destroyed in the last hundred years.
Besides the loss of habitat and the threat to wildlife, deforestation often has other undesirable results such as soil erosion and disturbance to water supplies. Of most concern are effects on the atmosphere. Photosynthesis by forest trees is very important in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and deforestation therefore directly exacerbates the problem of global warming. Deforestation is part of the wider problem of the economic relationship between the developing countries and the developed world, and successful international action to control it has been limited.