Changa Manga is a planted forest which includes a wildlife preserve, in the Kasur and Lahore districts of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located approximately 80 kilometers south-west of Lahore. It was once the largest man-made forest in the world but has undergone illegal deforestation at a massive scale in recent times.
Changa Manga is known more widely as “one of the oldest hand-planted forests in the world”,and hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna. The forest is home to 14 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, six species of reptiles, two species of amphibians and 27 species of insects.[citation needed] Thus, other than producing timber for the local industry, the forest also serves as an important wildlife reserve.
Named after two brother dacoits, the Changa Manga forest was originally planted in 1866 by British foresters. Its trees were harvested to gather fuel and resources for the engines employed in the North-Western railway networks.
