The Changa Manga (Urdu, Punjabi: چھانگا مانگا) is a planted forest which includes a wildlife preserve, in the Kasur and Lahore districts of Punjab, Pakistan.

It was once the largest man-made forest in the world but has undergone illegal deforestation at a massive scale in recent times.

The dacoits were a constant source of terror for the "law-abiding citizens" of the districts in the 19th century as they would "hold up and plunder" any passing trader.

[4] The forest plantation dates back to 1866 and was planned to fill the need for timber and fuel resources for the North-Western railway networks.

The most common species of flora are Dalbergia sissoo (Sheesham) and Acacia nilotica (Kikar), both members of the Fabaceae and native to the Indian subcontinent.

The land was mostly populated by the Gondhal and Sansi gypsies, whom British called "junglies" (a derogatory term meaning 'jungle-dwelling barbarians').

[11] In preparation for cultivation, the land was slashed and burnt to rid the landscape of thorn forest and dry scrub growth.

[13] The plantation of the forest began in 1866 but failed to obtain substantial harvest from the initial wooded area of 8,400 acres (3,399 ha).

[12] In 1868, Charles Frederick Amery, an officer in the Indian Forestry Commission, had an idea of employing a trench and ridge system.

Even with such incidents, the demand for wood from Changa Manga remained steady as its supply base grew across the timber market in India.

Though some parts of Punjab were also affected by the famine, firewood from Changa Manga grew in demand to supply the growing network of rail infrastructure.

[7] In 1916, the Governor of Punjab Sir Michael O'Dwyer visited the silk experiment where the silkworms had started developing cocoons.

[21] The Salvation Army Silk Camp remained a sustainable venture for a year after the governor's visit, although changes to the climate later led to its decline.

The reserve is home to species of hog deer, Indian peafowl, golden jackal, mouflon, nilgai and wild boar.

The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) arranges picnic trips to Changa Manga throughout the year.

[29] The world's largest artificial forest is being heavily logged, and so far more than 60 percent of Changa Manga Wildlife Park has been deforested.

A series of news stories were then filed by Khan until 24 June 2012, when CM Punjab Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, taking notice of the situation, ordered the removal of Chief Conservator (Forest) Dr Mehboobur Rehman and Conservator (Forest) Rao Khalid from their posts and making them OSD.

[citation needed] The chief minister also ordered the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment DG and the CM Inspection Team (CMIT) chairman to carry out a joint investigation into the deforestation by timber mafia and ferret out facts about their possible links with the forest authorities.

Apart from this, however serious efforts the government somehow started to bring back Changa Manga to the list of world's largest artificial forests.

864 Animals in this period were ejected from the forest on self-help basis as legislation for the same is still pending although a summary has been approved by the CM in this regard already.

In the same period 52 FIRs have been registered, however most of them are still pending investigation as the accused are, either themselves or family members of, prominent political figures of the area including Ch Mehmood Anwar and Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan belonging to the ruling party of Punjab.

[32] According to Forest Department officials in April 2020, honey sales from Changa Manga wildlife preserve increased from Rs.

This is asserted to be due to increased honeybee presence at the preserve as a result of Billion Tree Project afforestation efforts and decreased use of pesticides and industrial fertilizers in the vicinity of the region.