KARACHI - The local villagers alleged that the relatives of influential political figures are involved in massive tree-cutting at the banks of Rohri Canal in northern districts of Sindh that has left a barren look to the banks of canals and forests alongside the River Indus, destroying the areas ecological environment as well as depriving the livestock and wildlife of their fodder. The federal and provincial governments of Pakistan are looking elsewhere while an illegal tree cutting campaign is being carried out on a mass level along the canal banks and in the riverine forests in Sindh, ignoring the fact that these trees not only strengthen the canal embankments but also provide fodder for the livestock and wildlife as well as maintaining the ecology balance in the province. The Irrigation Department officials said that in past, a large number of guards were posted to look after the banks and the trees but at present they were not working properly because there was no check and balance to keep the previous system functional which had worsened the situation massively because of the timber mafia. Recently thousands of trees were chopped down along the banks of Nara Canal in district Khairpur and now the timber mafia has moved to Rohri Canal in the Sanghar district. Abdul Sattar Khoso, a resident of Shahdadpur, said that dozens of trucks, donkey-carts and trailers loaded with tree trunks were seen passing through his town, adding that the timber mafia is not only chopping down the trees from the banks of Rohri Canal but even the trees growing alongside smaller canals were not spared. The Sindh Irrigation Departments official records reveal that the three barrages built on the River Indus are Sukkur Barrage, Guddu Barrage and Kotri Barrage, each with a dozen canals. On the right bank of Sukkur Barrage, three main canals appears including Main Khair Thar Canal, Dadu Canal and Rice Canal. On the left bank, the four main canals appear including Nara Canal, Rohri Canal, Khairpur East Canal and Khaipur West Canal. On the right side of Kotri Canal, Kalri Baghar or KB Feeder is located and on the left side three main canals exist including Phuleli, Pinjari and Akram Wah. These canals are spread all over the province and due to seepage it resulted in thick forest growth turning the area into a huge forest range, and according to the Sindh Forest Departments record there are many important tree varieties including Babool (acacica nilotica), Sheesham or Talhi (dalkagia sisoo), Neem (azatrteha indica), Jar (salvudora oleoides), Sufedo (Eucalyptus) and Sareenh (Albizia). The practice of tree-cutting was not enough, so the construction of dams/barrages on the upper reaches of the River Indus for hydroelectric power and irrigation works have significantly reduced the discharge of fresh water into the lower Indus basin which is resulted in the disappearance of 100,000 acres of forests. The forest maps have shown not only the temporal changes that occur in the riverine forest but also in the River Indus course in 22 years period. In view of this, it was felt necessary to carryout land use studies focusing on mapping the past and present conditions and the extent of forests and rangelands using Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies. The SRS and GIS technologies provide a possible means of monitoring and mapping the changes occurring in natural resources and the environment on a continuous basis. The riverine forests of Sindh are mostly growing alongside the River Indus in the flood plains and are spread over an area of 241,000 hectors but are disappearing very rapidly. The heavy floods of 1978, 1988, 1992 and 1997 have altered the course of the River Indus in many places especially in the lower reaches, this has also damaged the riverine forests of Sindh. An integrated approach involving analysis of SRS data from 1977 to 1998 and GIS technique have been used to evaluate the geographic extent and distribution of the riverine forests of Sindh and to monitor the temporal changes in the forest cover between 1977 and 1990; 1990 and 1998; and 1977 and 1998.