Daily Jang: Urdu News - Latest Breaking News update Pakistan - jang.com.pk simple man, Abdul Latif comes from a remote village called Pekhonakar in the Kalabagh forest range of the Abbottabad district. At the age of 23, he took upon himself the responsibility of safeguarding the guzara forest (privately owned forest) of Pekhonakar. After 40 years of hard work and struggle, the 400 kanals of deserted land is now covered by naturally growing flora and is an important habitat for wildlife and birds.
As a result of his ceaseless efforts, seeds of different indigenous forest species have been sown in the forest. Now at the age of 67, he is energetic and enthusiastic about taking care of the forest. The villagers affectionately call him Chacha (uncle).
For his service, a trophy (a foot-long metallic replica of blind Indus Dolphin fixed on a wooden pedestal), performance certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 50,000 were recently given to him as Syed Asad Ali Award for Nature Conservation, organised by WWF-Pakistan.
Youngest of nine siblings, Latif was born in a mud house where he along with his wife, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren reside to date. “A small piece of land, comprising 5 kanals, meant for growing food grain and around 150 goats to get milk and earn cash from were the entire source of income of my family,” he recounts.
Due to non-availability of any education facilities and limited family resources, attaining even minimum level of education was out of question for him. At the age of 10, the family assigned him the responsibility of grazing goats, which he did for the next 20 years. Those are the times Latif Chacha cherishes the most.
“Free from the worries of life, the entire day would go by singing and playing with my age fellows while herding goats in meadows and on hilltops. Even the severity of weather and hunger pangs never hurt me. On days when it would snow heavily, grass footwear, locally called poolain, was a must to avoid any slip or getting one’s feet frozen while walking in snow. I would remove my poolain as soon as I got out of sight of by family members. Bread with fresh milk is perhaps the best lunch I’ve ever had,” reminisces Latif.
But his days of playfulness were full of twists and turns. “I would take pleasure in hitting the passers-by with pebbles and letting my goats destroy crops of others. People truly had reason to be disdainful of me,” he admits.
His parents thought to marry him off. “Seeing marriage as a fetter to my freedom, I refused to marry initially on the pretext that I did not have the ability to fulfill responsibilities of a married man. But I had to give in,” he says shyly.
Marriage proved an effective tool. “I became a responsible man. I began to approach Pirs, village elders, and everyone from whom I could gain wisdom. My wife, a pious woman, no doubt played an important role in my life,” he recalls.
His practical love and affection for forests grew in 1963 when some locals sat together to discuss the fast depleting guzara forest of their village and its likely consequences on life support system. They thought of a restoration strategy by involving all members of the community in the process. They made a unanimous decision to ban all sorts of grazing as well as timber extraction.
“I could understand and reinforce the concerns of village people because I was quite aware of the pathetic forest condition since I grazed goats there. Due to excessive exploitation, it had been reduced to a savanna with scattered poles of blue-pine. Being a shepherd, it was not difficult for me to realise that the area could support only a small number of sheep and goats. Many species of wild animals and plants had almost vanished and were on the verge of extinction,” he remembers.
The concerned village people entrusted the responsibility of restoration and protection of the forest on him – “on the day of my mother’s funeral,” says Latif.
“Next day I agreed to take up the job on voluntary basis for a year – provided no one would be allowed to exploit the forest resources, and no exception would be made in this respect,” he elaborates. His offer was accepted. An oath was administered on the Holy Quran that the decision would not be violated. He was offered one and a half kilogram of food grain yearly from each household of the village for his services. “That was the price the person before me was paid for looking after the forest. But I refused, as I felt the price would weaken my authority,” he reminisces.
He started by planting new saplings with the assistance of the village people. Soon after a woman was found collecting wood from the forest. “I caught her red-handed. She picked 36 saplings which meant she had destroyed 36 trees. I took the issue to jirga that honoured its commitment and fined the offender accordingly,” he says.
Within a few months his interest in trees grew to such an extent that he devoted all his time and energy in looking after them. And after the lapse of a year when his term expired he extended his voluntary service for an indefinite period.
Latif Chacha, who is also the tehsil president of Sarhad Awami Forestry Ittehad (SAFI), a provincial body of forest communities to protect the forest and people’s forest rights, is highly critical of the Forest Department’s role. According to him, “the Department is the major cause of ruthless deforestation in the province. It is the corrupt officials of the department, who have trained the timber mafia to illegally extract forest resource,” he regrets.
When the Forest Department tried to keep control of the management of his forest, Latif Chacha did not allow the government-appointed forest guard to interfere in protecting the guzara forest. “How could I let the department take control of the management of the forest I had looked after for decades? It was tantamount to its total destruction,” he opines.
Today he is happy when he sees his forest with thick tree cover and the return of a number of animal and bird species that had once abandoned it. But he is apprehensive about the timber mafia, which has become stronger due to political affiliation, better techniques of forest harvesting, and improvement in transportation facilities. His eldest of four sons has also promised to guard the forest after him.
He is highly concerned about the under-development of his area. “Circle Bakot is one of the most backward areas of the Abbottabad district and our village is the worst example of under-development. Poverty is rampant. There are no education facilities beyond primary level. Due to poor communication facilities, it takes us at least five hours of tedious drive to reach the district headquarters. No government has ever thought of development here. Former chief minister of the NWFP Mehtab Abbasi won from this constituency but did nothing to spare the people of miseries,” bemoans Latif.
As for what he will do with the 50,000 award money, he says, “My family owes Rs 55,000 to someone in the village. Thank God I will not die indebted.”