Revision as of 06:17, 7 March 2014

Chilghoza Trees

Sulaiman Range

Counting on chilghoza trees

By Rina Saeed Khan

Dawn

The world’s largest pure stands of chilghoza, the Asian variety of pine nut, are found in the forests up in the Sulaiman Mountains, near Zhob. The Sulaiman Range is an extension of the Hindu Kush mountains into Balochistan. The steep mountainous terrain, with hot and dry summers and cold winters provides unique ecosystems and is home to endangered animals like markhor and the black bear

The drive through the rugged Sulaiman Range from Dera Ismail Khan to Zhob is spectacular. Most of the bridges are not yet complete, but the road is in good shape and one can commute to Zhob in less than four hours.

On the way, one comes across hundreds of Kuchis (Afghan nomads) who seasonally migrate to Pakistan for the winter months. Dressed in traditional black, embroidered robes, accessorised with silver jewellery, they camp in tents open to the winds near the water streams that crisscross the road. They come every year with their livestock and also allegedly deal in lucrative arms trading along the way! They are mostly well dressed and look well fed.

The world’s largest pure stands of chilghoza, the Asian variety of pine nut, are found in the forests up in the Sulaiman Mountains, near Zhob. The Sulaiman Range is an extension of the Hindu Kush mountains into Balochistan. The steep mountainous terrain, with hot and dry summers and cold winters provides unique ecosystems and is home to endangered animals like markhor and the black bear.

These forests are very important for the economy because chilghoza nuts can fetch a good price in the market. The growing demand for chilghoza nuts in international markets of Dubai, Muscat, Jeddah, London and even Israel makes this commodity a very important source of earning foreign exchange.

“We pay up to Rs24,000 per 40 kilograms of chilghoza nuts,” explained Haji Qasim Khan, a merchant from Dera Ismail Khan. “The big market is in Lahore. We send 80 per cent of the chilghoza nuts to Lahore, where many are peeled and then exported abroad. The chilgozha nuts found here in the Sulaiman Range are amongst the best in the world.”

Haji Qasim Khan is in Zhob at the invitation of Worldwide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF), the international conservation NGO which has an office in Zhob town. WWF-Pakistan is hoping to cut down the role of the middlemen who make huge profits by buying chilghoza from the local people and then selling them to the big merchants. The NGO would like the merchants to buy directly from the local communities, so that the latter can benefit directly from the sales.

“We have asked the local villagers not to cut the chilghoza trees to sell their wood. They only get Rs2,000 per tree for the timber. But if they harvest the chilghoza nuts from the trees, they will get more than Rs10,000 per tree every year. The communities are starting to listen now.

“In fact, we have constituted a community based Chilghoza Forest Conservation Committee and they are enforcing a fine of Rs10,000 on any villager cutting a green chilghoza tree in their area. People realise now that these trees are precious. We want them to get the proper price for the chilghoza nuts,” explains Bazmir Khan, who works for WWF-Pakistan.

This project, which is funded by the European Union through the UNDP’s small grants programme to promote tropical forests, is currently working in targeted villages of the Pakhtoon Sherani tribe in the Sulaiman Range, who own almost 1200 square kilometres of pure chilghoza forest.

The chilghoza forests have come under threat recently from the over-collection of timber for sale and for fuelwood. Villagers take loans from the contractors, who later cut the trees to get their money back. With the funding from the European Union, WWF-Pakistan is helping to improve the management of these forests in this remote and poverty stricken region. They have highlighted the importance of chilghoza forests in 18 villages, hence covering over one-third of these forests and a population of 5,500 people.

The local communities are becoming aware of the fact that in a good year, the value of nuts produced by a single chilghoza tree is higher than the timber value of an entire tree. “Previously, the villagers would take out chilghoza pines too early and damage the trees. Now we have taught them the best time for extraction, which is early September, and have given them special equipment to cut the cones,” explains Khan.

At lower elevations, the chilghoza forests give way to olive and mixed scrub forests (including pistachio and acacia). This area is rich in wild fruit, nuts, medicinal plants and mushrooms. At lower levels, there are flat valleys with good grazing and agricultural land.

The project is also helping to reduce the villagers’ dependence on the forest by improving agricultural productivity. The water channels had almost stopped functioning because of all the tribal feuds that are common in this region. The NGO has acted as an intermediary to settle disputes and has helped in irrigating more than 18 acres of land. Now the villagers can grow onions and other vegetables which fetch good prices in the markets. The local people are also growing apples, grapes and pomegranates.

According to Ashiq Ahmad of WWF-Pakistan, who oversees the project from Peshawar, “We are trying to help reduce the people’s subsistence on the forests. We held a workshop in the area in February last year where we invited the local villagers and government officials. By highlighting the importance of the chilghoza forests, we are spreading awareness in the area.”

WWF-Pakistan’s project field office is located around an hours’ drive from Zhob town, deep in the Sulaiman Range. We spent the night at the office, which is merely a cluster of mud and thatched rooms with a protective stone wall and is perched on top of a ridge. Below us were the agricultural fields owned by the local villagers. Nearby was a stream which provides fresh water flowing down the mountains that encircle the valley. These are arid, stone mountains, almost blue grey in colour that looms up in the distance –– forbidding and austere. They are also very difficult to climb, as we discovered the next day!

We wanted to see the chilghoza forests, and in order to do that we had no choice but to climb the mountains. The chilghoza trees are only found at higher elevations. Accompanying us was a local tribesman, Yar Mohammad, a member of both the Shirani tribe and the Chilghoza Committee, who looked striking in his grey turban, with a kalashnikov slung across his shoulder. Yar Mohammad lives in the nearby village of Ahmadi Daragh. He was our guide and saviour on our way up when the terrain became extremely hostile!

We set off at 5am, with donkeys laden with food and knapsacks leading the way. After what seemed like hours trekking through a stony river bed (dangerous during rainy season when hill torrents can come cascading down the mountain, sweeping away rocks and anything else along with the sheer force of the water), we finally started climbing. The higher we climbed, the cooler it became. We had plenty of water in our canisters, filled at a fresh water spring on our way up. There is no water at the top of the mountain, so it is important to carry it with you.

The team was surprised when we had to stand aside to give way to camels going down the narrow mountain track, almost half way up. “The camels go all the way up –– they are less in number now. Previously the local people would use them extensively to bring down timber from the mountains,” explained Bazmir Khan, who was also accompanying us. “The local people have started cutting fewer trees now –– they respect the ban that is in place. They only bring down the older trees which have dried up to either sell or use for fuelwood.”

Although this area is a part of Balochistan, there is no Sui gas in Zhob district. The people are very peaceful, though, and not actively involved in the provincial politics since they are all Pakhtoon and mostly members of the same tribe, the Sherani (which stretches into the NWFP side as well). There is little crime in this tribal area and the people are very hospitable. However, Yar Mohammad’s kalashnikov was a reminder that there are plenty of local feuds going around in this remote corner of Pakistan.

As the track started getting narrower and steeper, we came across our first chilghoza trees, which looked delicate and spindly like mini-pine trees, but these were young trees and we had yet to reach the dense forests above. We took a break for tea by climbing up to a summer camp. Near the camp, hundreds of pine cones were littered by the makeshift shelter. We had just missed the harvesting, it seemed, for the local villagers had already extracted all the chilghoza nuts and then buried them in safe hiding places.

“They will come for them in a week or so –– they are letting them dry out a little”, explained Yar Mohammed. He discovered one or two hiding places as well and showed us how the nuts are taken out of the cones. It seemed like a backbreaking job.

Our final hike to the top of the mountain, called Pazi, was hampered by a landslide which had swept away the track. After around half an hour of climbing, we finally reached the top. There was plenty of new growth of chilghoza trees which was an encouraging sight. “In another 20 years, this will be a thick forest,” explained Bazmir. “The average chilghoza tree lives up to around 100 years and gives fruit every year.”

Just across us on the other side of the valley was the famous Takht-e-Sulaiman (probably around 1,000 feet higher). There is a shrine at the top which is said to be the tomb of the founder of the Pakhtoon race!

The sight of the dense chilghoza forests on one side of the mountain top –– which was shaped almost like a plateau rather than a pointy top, made one forget the arduous trek up the mountain. To the right was a splendid spectacle –– a forest so thick that one could not even see the mountain slopes. In between were the blue pine trees. The blue pine is a beautiful tree, almost like a Christmas tree, but even prettier with its blue-green colouring and dense pine needles.

There are no villages or settlements on the mountain –– when the sun sets, it gets very cold and there is no water at this height. The local villagers, who are tough mountain people, can easily trek up and down in a few hours. If need be, they spend a few nights during harvesting season, lighting a huge fire to keep warm at night.

We had the option of spending the night at the camping place, but by now the mountain was turning inhospitable and severe. It was very painful coming down in joggers (one needs proper hiking boots for this kind of trekking) and the stones were causing one to stumble along. By the time we reached the riverbed, it was dark already but luckily we had torches to light our way. From a distance we spotted the jeep that was waiting for us and by 8pm we had finally made it back. “This is a hard mountain” Yar Mohammed told us. “Not many visitors can go up and down in one day!”

Yet for the local people this is an everyday reality. They go up and down these mountains at least once a week to get fuelwood and timber. During the harvesting season in early September, they go up almost every day. One comes away from the mountain with renewed respect for these tough, dignified tribesmen. With the right guidance and encouragement, they have a bright future ahead of them.

The market for chilghoza pines is only going to get bigger and as the demand grows, so will the prices. Already, each family in the area makes around Rs50,000 per year from selling the chilghoza nuts grown in these community owned forests.

By organising the villagers and teaching them how to manage their precious forests and market their produce, the project has not only helped save the forests but also brought the people closer together to live in peace and harmony. The remaining chilghoza forests in Balochistan can now be saved in the same manner.

Steep terrain The Sulaiman Range is located inside Pakistan and sprawls over three provinces: the North West Frontier Province, Punjab and Balochistan. The mountains vary from 500 to 3,350 metres in altitude. The highly steep mountainous terrain and the harsh climate (hot and dry summers and the cold winters) is host to the largest pure chilghoza forest on earth.

The mean maximum day temperatures range from about 37°c in June to about 13°c in January, and rainfall averages 320mm per year, but varies significantly with altitude. The chilghoza forest ecosystem is a combination of habitats stretching along an altitudinal gradient which, in turn, support a variety of species of plants and animals. Many species are endangered nationally, regionally and globally. Many other species are economically important, and there are several wild relatives of cultivated plants.

At the higher altitudes, chilghoza (pinus gerardiana) grows on steep terrain and high plateaus, and forms the upper watersheds of the Sulaiman Mountain Range. The chilghoza forests of the Sulaiman Range are unique ecologically and have a tremendous socio-economic importance for the local communities. The pure chilghoza stands lie between 2,133m and 3,353m. In total, approximately 26,000 hectares remain.

Wild olive forests and mixed scrub forest (notably acacia and pistachio) lie in the zone between 1750m and 2,400m. All the chilghoza forests in Zhob district lie in the Sherani tehsil (sub-district). — WWF-Pakistan

Falsa

Purple magic

By Zarina Patel

Falsa is often mistaken for North American blueberry, but it is a fruit that is as Asian as it gets.

Falsa or grewia asiatica originated from South India, but is now an extremely popular summer fruit in the subcontinent and is widely grown in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and even the Philippines. Falsa is an extremely sought-after summer relish and ranks third on the list of most popular summer fruits after mangoes and peaches.

It is an exotic bush plant and the sweet and sour ripe falsa fruits are consumed fresh, in desserts, or processed into refreshing fruit juices and soft drinks enjoyed during hot summer months. However, the falsa fruit has a short shelf-life and is considered suitable only for local marketing and day-to-day consumption.

The young plant starts fruiting after three years of cultivation. The fruit grows rapidly for the duration of summer from bunches of yellow-orange flowers. It attains maturity within 40 to 45 days. The size of the individual fruit is about 1.0 to 1.9 in diameter. The falsa tree flourishes under strong sunlight and hot temperatures and yields high-quality fruit.

It is highly eulogised for its unique blend of tangy-sweet flavour and medicinal values.

A ripe falsa is soft and succulent. The malleable skin surrounds the fibrous purplish-maroon flesh and a hard tiny seed.

Because the fruit starts to deteriorate soon after it ripens, people like to chomp it fresh with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper, and sometimes sugar to enhance the taste.

A glass of falsa juice with pulp is loaded with magnesium, potassium, calcium, carbohydrates, vitamin A and C, iron and sodium. Cool, refreshing and digestible properties of the juice give it the status of an ideal summer tonic. It heals irritation, swelling and redness which appear due to too much sunlight exposure and excessive heat. Its revitalising effect also puts a stop to the damaging effects of sunstroke. Surprisingly, the sweet and sour juice also provides protection against cough and sour throat.

Both unripe and ripe forms of the fruit are used for the treatment of bodily disorders and diseases since time immemorial. Young falsa fruits are sharp-tasting and are useful for the treatment of liver and gall bladder disorders (biliousness). It is also reputed for its healing power in people with blood and urinary tract disorders. The presence of potassium in the fruit keeps blood pressure on track. It provides comfort from acidity. One of its components, anthocyanin, prevents heart trouble and restrains cholesterol formation.

Recently, scientists have discovered the radioactive potential of the plant. Moreover, the presence of anthocyanin flavonoids and vitamins make falsa a valuable source against the threat of cancer.

Its leaves, bark, stem and root barks have been used in folk medicine for centuries. For example, the solid covering of the woody stem is soaked overnight in water and used to treat skin injuries and to alleviate fever. The leaves of the falsa plant have antibiotic effects and its root bark is found useful for the treatment of rheumatism. The leaves, pruned stem and bark of the plant are used by natives of the rural areas for many purposes such as making ropes, baskets, sticks, and coarse food for cattle and horses. The stem bark of the falsa plant is also used for cleaning sugarcane juice during the processes of making brown sugar. To sum it all up, falsa is among the many wonderful gifts that nature brings us every summer.