Cutting of Trees (Prohibition) Act, 1992

The Cutting of Trees (Prohibition) Act, 1992 protects tree cover along Pakistan's external land borders, apparently for security and environmental reasons. Section 2 divides the border area into two zones: a "first zone" extending four kilometres inward from the frontier, and a "second zone" extending a further four kilometres beyond that.

Section 3 prohibits cutting, felling, or damaging any tree in these zones without the prior written approval of an authorised officer — but only where doing so would drop the number of remaining trees in that field below a set density: fifteen trees per acre in the first zone, or ten trees per acre in the second zone. Trees on land used as a town, village, or dwelling-house site (including its curtilage) are exempt from this restriction entirely.

Section 4 sets penalties for violations: a fine up to five thousand rupees for offences in the first zone, and up to two thousand five hundred rupees in the second zone. Section 5 requires a complaint from the authorised officer or the local Pakistan Army formation commander before a court can take up a case. Section 6 lets the authorised officer seize any tree cut in violation, along with the tools used, mark the seized property, and report the seizure to the local Magistrate, who then decides on disposal; a conviction can also result in confiscation of the tree and tools, on top of any other punishment.

Section 7 empowers authorised officers to take preventive measures against violations. Section 8 lets Provincial Governments demarcate the zones and count the trees within them, and Section 9 gives authorised officers and demarcation staff the right to enter land to survey, map, mark boundaries, and blaze trees. Section 10 provides rule-making power, and Section 11 repeals the earlier Cutting of Trees (Prohibition) Act, 1975, which this Act replaces.