omestic sewage and industrial waste. A recent study of the Kabul River (near Peshawar) reveals that parts of the river and some of its tributaries have become open sewers.68 Much of this polluted river water is used for drinking and irrigation. In fact, inadequate drinking water represents a long-standing and serious problem in several parts of the country.69 It is increasingly common to see people in many parts of the country walking for kilometers to fill a container with water.70Forests. As legally defined by the government, areas designated as "forests" include both natural and plantation forests, as well as areas with closed forest cover and open cover; the definition even includes some territory with little tree cover. Clearer are the designations of "production" and "protected" areas offered in the Forest Act of 1927. Production forests are used mainly for the direct material products of their growth. They have a high tree density and, in most instances, a closed tree canopy. They represent the chief source of timber and currently make up 27.6 percent of total forest area. Protected areas are largely intended to guard against soil erosion and today account for a full 72.4 percent of total forest area.Such distinctions have nonetheless done little to prevent the decline of forest areas generally. Over the past 75 years, forests have decreased from 14.2 percent to 5.2 percent (4.57 million hectares) of Pakistan's total land area, with less than 3 percent currently under tree cover. Closed cover forests account for under 1 million hectares.Efforts at afforestation and watershed management have not kept pace with increased demand for timber and excessive cutting and overgrazing. Between 1974 and 1985, timber supplies from state forests declined by 45 percent, in part because of reduced forest area. The total loss of forest occurred at a rate of 0.4 percent from 1981 through 1984 and has now decreased to 0.2 percent per annum. This fi...
