The Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar (PFI) and Punjab Forestry Research Institute, Faisalabad (PFRI) are the only institutes working on forestry research at national level. The former is federally administered while the latter is a provincial organization. Under this set-up, there are little or no coordinated efforts between the two organizations for conservation and management of FGR. Located in two distinct ecological zones, the PFI has been handling genetic improvement work in the natural coniferous forests while the PFRI had undertaken studies in irrigated as well as farmland plantations. The activities of both institutes have been mainly confined to collecting and supplying quality seed from plus trees and stands with little efforts towards conservation and management of rare and endangered species. A genebank with a storage capacity of 20 000 kg seed has been established at the PFI during early 1990s wherein ex situ conservation of target species has been undertaken. However, this facility could not be utilized to its full capacity due to lack of interest and knowledge of stakeholders in the conservation of FGR.
Until and unless these activities are included in the national forest policy, conservation of FGR cannot be increased to the desired level. Establishment of seed stands as in situ conservation stands over an area of 8 ha is one step towards this direction. These stands are also ideal sites for conserving several other endangered associated species.
Detailed ecogeographic studies in the natural forests of Pinus wallichiana have suggested strict avoidance of transfer of germplasm from xeric to mesic habitats and vice versa. In addition, one ecotype (Pinus wallichiana var. karakorama Khan) has been found resistant to blister rust (Shams R. Khan 2001). This information could be effectively used to establish rust free ex situ conservation stands in Europe and America. However, due to geographically isolated small stands of this variety in Pakistan, there is a dire need to establish in situ and ex situ conservation stands. Besides these efforts, an area of 1000 ha (10.2% of the total area of occurrence of the species) has been declared as “protected areas” in some ecological zones, which could be used to restore this variety. In situ conservation studies are exclusively handled by the Provincial Wildlife Department with little coordination among field foresters and researchers. Such coordination needs to be further strengthened.
Attempts on micropropagation (in vitro studies) of endangered species have not been undertaken so far on any tree species of economic importance in Pakistan. However, in case of dieback of Dalbergia sissoo (prevalent in Nepal and India also), use of biotechnological techniques might bring about desired results to control the disease. Similarly, such studies might be useful in the conservation of Populus euphratica, which is an industrially important endangered riverine tree species in the plains of Pakistan.
Considering, on one hand the efforts made in the past to restore important biomes and, on the other hand, the multiple uses of several species, a number of exotic and indigenous species could be used so that the endangered native species are conserved. Proper and timely conservation measures are required for this purpose (Appendix 2). Most of the exotics have been successfully introduced recently and large-scale establishment of conservation cum demonstration plots is therefore recommended to rehabilitate the fragile ecosystem in the country. This is not an exhaustive list and could be updated at a national workshop on the conservation and management of FGR through participation and involvement of several stakeholders. Appendix 2 also indicates that so far no in situ conservation stands of any endangered indigenous species have been established and the number of individual tree species could still diminish unless protective measures are taken.
Natural forests in Pakistan represent a mixture of native coniferous and broad-leaved species and therefore, an ecological balance must be maintained through an appropriate mix of ex situ and in situ conservation stands. Several timber species e.g. Ulmus, Quercus, Fraxinus, Taxus and Picea are endangered or vulnerable. Most of the fodder species like Ficus, Prunus, Grewia in the sub-tropical zone and Acer, Aelagnus and Quercus in the temperate forests are disappearing at a very fast rate. These are considered low priority species by field foresters and are not included in any artificial regeneration programmes.
Similarly, the inhabitants in hilly areas use costly wood of Cedrus deodara as firewood because of ignorance and easy accessibility. The pressure on these forests could be reduced if some alternatives for cooking and for heating were provided to the local people. Forest and soil degradation could be reduced if the original native flora was restored. Some surveys and regeneration studies on non-timber species have been undertaken by the PFI in the past on limited scale but these could not be developed and included in large-scale afforestation programmes at provincial level (Anwar A. Khan 1990). These native woody herbaceous and non-herbaceous genetic resources not only fulfil the basic needs of the local communities but also stabilize the eroded areas in the Himalayas, as they are the important components of the whole ecosystem.
Since species like Quercus, walnut, Aesculus, etc., are recalcitrant ex situ conservation of them as seed would not be possible, however, the establishment of in situ conservation areas and use of biotechnological techniques in certain species may help to promote and improve the status of FGR in the country. Conservation and management of coastal forest tree species is a challenging job because of difficulties in storage of seeds. Firewood is another problem in the area as no other energy source is available.
In addition to the above mentioned problems, several biotic and abiotic factors (grazing problems, clearing land for agriculture), pollution and construction of dams are some of the major direct causes for the genetic erosion of valuable FGR in Pakistan (Appendix 3).
In the past the PFI has successfully introduced some exotics to improve biodiversity in different ecosystems in the country. In some cases they outperformed the native species in terms of survival and growth. If introduced species are found better and are posing no threat to the natives, they may be continued to be tested and included in tree improvement programmes and rehabilitation of degraded lands which in turn can help to reduce the pressure on natural forests. Being less aggressive, none of the above species have posed any threat so far, but rather enhanced net productivity, as these were found better than native ones (Pakistan Forest Institute’s Annual Progress Reports 1980-2002).
