8,000–10,000 trees are illegally cut annually in Chhachhro, Dahli, and Nagarparkar talukas, while satellite imagery from 2000 to 2020 shows a 25% rise in barren and degraded land within the district.
By Ali Nawaz Rahimoo
Tharparkar, Sindh — In Pakistan’s largest desert, the green sentinels that once anchored the sand dunes and sustained local livelihoods are being felled at an alarming rate. Environmentalists warn that unchecked deforestation is accelerating desertification, eroding biodiversity, and intensifying the impacts of climate change across Tharparkar. Local forest officials and environmental groups estimate that more than 60% of Tharparkar’s natural tree cover has disappeared over the past two decades, a stark measure of a landscape under steady assault. Reports indicate that up to 8,000–10,000 trees are illegally cut annually in Chhachhro, Dahli, and Nagarparkar talukas, while satellite imagery from 2000 to 2020 shows a 25% rise in barren and degraded land within the district.
Among the most affected species are the Kumbhat, known scientifically as Acacia senegal, Gugral or Commiphora mukul, Rohiro, which is Tecomella undulata, Neem, Azadirachta indica, and Kandi, Prosopis cineraria. These trees have long provided fodder, shade, and a bulwark against soil erosion. Their decline threatens livestock survival, water retention, and agricultural productivity in a region that is already drought-prone. A lingering, troubling pattern has emerged: a well-organized timber network operates across Thar, transporting chopped wood to urban markets such as Mithi, Umerkot, and Hyderabad, where it commands high prices as firewood and charcoal. Local activists say enforcement is weak, and the practice continues with little accountability.
Among the hardest hit is the Gugral, whose resin has long been valued for medicinal use. Rather than sustainable tapping, many Gugral trees are killed by incisions that burn deep into their trunks to extract resin, a practice activists say has fatally damaged thousands of trees since 2018. Some campaigners describe the distribution of responsibility for this destruction as a broader governance failure, with development ambitions often outpacing environmental safeguards. In this light, a 105-kilometer railway line upgrading connections from the Thar coalfield to Chhor is seen by many locals as a symbol of progress that may come at the cost of ecological displacement. Officials frame the project as a sign of national advancement, yet to those on the ground it feels like another thread in a web of land use changes that erode a community’s lifelines.
Scientists warn that if deforestation continues unchecked, Tharparkar could lose a further portion of its vegetative cover by 2030, a prospect that would intensify wind erosion, sand encroachment, and microclimate shifts, potentially reducing rainfall and pushing more families toward migration. The consequences ripple beyond the natural world to people who rely on these trees for fodder, shade, and soil stability. In the evenings, as the sun sinks toward the dunes, the silhouettes of stumps stand as silent witnesses to a desert sacrificed in the name of progress. Local growers urge decisive action from the Sindh government, calling for immediate enforcement of restrictions on tree cutting, stricter penalties for hazardous gum extraction, and the formation of community-based forest protection committees to monitor and report illegal felling. They also stress the need for investment in alternative energy sources to ease the pressure on firewood resources.
Tharparkar sits at a climate crossroads, where rising temperatures and erratic rainfall confront communities with a fragile balance between survival and sustainability. Trees here are not merely ecological assets; they are a shield against wind and heat, a source of fodder in lean years, and a link to livelihoods built over generations. Their loss, as some elders remind us, is not just a tree-count but a story of a land facing a slow, shared tragedy. If the current trajectory continues, the desert’s edge may advance further, and with it the lives of those who call Thar home. As one local elder put it, “Every conscientious person should be alarmed. If this continues, we won’t just lose trees we will lose Thar itself.”
Read: Mental Health Crises Hit Sindh Deserts
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Ali Nawaz Rahimoo, based in Umerkot, Sindh is a social development professional. He can be contacted on anrahimoo@gmail.com
Local govt not ban on tree cutting in thar. After continuesly tree cutting temp is very high. Rain patterns are changed.
Trees are cutting in the name development thar coal and recently Railway line project for transport the coal. Thar needs more tree planting and protection tree is mandatory to balance the nature.
The landscape has completely changed after the launch of coal mega projects. Trees are being cut down, and no environmental assessments have been conducted. As a result, desertification has increased.
Thar desert changed after few years. The whole land scape. The coal mining mega projects cutting the trees and other plants. The underground table was decreased and water tastes is totally changed.