Pakistan floods largely result of organized climate crime, paid off government officials

The deforestation racket, another example that Cancun climate jet setters are sales reps for organized crime, willingly or not. Organized crime involvement always carries the threat of harm or death to oneself and one's family. That's how it succeeds.

10/13/10, "Pakistani timber mafia and climate change caused much of summer's flooding," Treehugger, by Matthew McDermott

"Back when 20% of Pakistan was underwater, I wrote about the influence of deforestation on the flooding--deforestation caused in no small part by illegal logging at the hands of the so-called timber mafia, a group with direct ties to the Taliban. Now, the New York Times has some follow up on that issue which is really worth reading. It asserts that

• terrorism remains Pakistan's number one problem, but environmental degradation is a close second.

Check out this telling stat: When Pakistan gained its independence from Great Britain in 1947,

• 33% of the nation was covered in forest.
  

• Now that's just 4%.

Some of that is no doubt because lack of power infrastructure and poverty means that many people have no choice but to chop wood for heat and cooking fuel.

But most attribute deforestation to Pakistan's famous "timber mafia," a shadowy network of politically connected individuals and firms that chop down trees and will and cart them away under cover of darkness, with

bribes to local and national officials guaranteeing that forest managers look the other way.

As for the causes of this summer's flooding, water and environmental engineer Tariq Yousafzai says one third was probably caused by climate change, with the rest (66%) attributed to the intersection of

• deforestation, poor infrastructure development, and engineering problems."

As for how much it'll cost to just get the infrastructure into proper shape, we're talking about

• $200 million, to start.

Which is just the start of this complex story. Read more: New York Times: Climate Change, Deforestation and Corruption Combine to Drown A Region.

More on Pakistan Flooding:

• Illegal Logging by Pakistan's Timber Mafia Increased Flooding Devastation"...

Of Mexico President Calderon, (who oversees a massive organized crime operation and is always looking for even more money from bankrupt Americans via the UN) per the Washington Post, 11/29/10:

• ""He is obsessed by climate change,"...(If you want to rob money and pass much of it to organized crime in Mexico, why not? ed.)
  

• "The president is extremely engaged and very committed. He has instructed us to move, and move now, and not wait for anybody else"...

• "Mexico hopes to be first at the table to grab some of the $30 billion in "fast start" financing promised by Europe and the United States"...

• Saint Calderon is happy to get in on the "getting paid not to cut down trees" millions:

Not fighting organized crime, but "Mexico also is fighting to preserve its forests. It is working on partnerships with organizations such as the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International to protect trees and watersheds and to improve the lives of local residents, who are being steered away from slash-and-burn agriculture."...However, "Massive government reforestation campaigns, such as ProArbol, have mostly withered,

• derailed by corruption, incompetence and the planting of saplings that were not suited to the environment and
  

• quickly died."...

The UN will take its cut for their relatives and their home renovation projects. After that, cronies are paid off. Some people who win the lottery go bankrupt, because money doesn't cure a bad culture. ed.

Reference: "Mexico aims to be a leader in emissions reduction," Washington Post, 11/29/10, by William Booth

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