ha
(54,497 acres) with over 14.723 million Eucalyptus seedlings
planted in addition to other tree species.
The Environmental Audit theme was established on the basis of
visual inspection of a watercourse in the Malakand hills by
Mr. Rashid Ahmed Saleh, the Director General of Audit, N-W.F.P.
The water that once flowed out of a perennial mountain spring
was observed to have run dry over the past few years. Preliminary
survey led to the belief that widespread plantations of Eucalyptus
species had possibly depleted all the water resources. The inhabitants
of Malakand Agency vocally expressed their anger at the loss
of water resource that was once plentiful in the entire area.
Hence the loss of water formed the basic theme for this study.
The study revealed that the environmental aspect of the project
was not considered properly at the time of conceptualization
and formulation. In fact the destruction of the life sustaining
resources such as water and nutrient negated the concept of
sustainable development which prescribed the conservation of
all natural resources particularly Land, Water and Air in a
state of purity for use by future generations.
The report will hopefully serve as a base-line study for the
policy makers, planners and governmental organizations in assessing
the sustainability aspect and the likely impacts of all project
activities and programs on the environment.
