Sustainable Development Success Stories
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CSD-8: Sustainable Development Success Stories |
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Pakistan |
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Responsible Organization |
Approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for an allocation of US$10,6 million, this project is being implemented by Pakistan’s Ministry of Environment, Local Government, and Rural Development and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Partners in this effort include the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, IUCN, World Wildlife Fund – the governments of The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). |
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Description |
The landscape of the Western Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountains of northern Pakistan is dominated by some of the world's highest peaks, separated by narrow river valleys. As a result, its biodiversity is incredibly varied, including 45 mammals, 222 birds, 32 reptiles, 6 amphibians, and some 1,000 vascular plant species. About 80 percent of the 300 or so known endemic species of plants are found in these mountains. The vegetation varies from xeric types to alpine meadows and heaths, stands of oaks and birch, and conifer forests. Although historically low human populations have limited impacts on this biodiversity, threats are accelerating, spurred by demographic, economic, and technological change. These include degradation of rangelands by domestic livestock, hunting of wild ungulates and carnivores, and unsustainable harvest of fuelwood, trees for construction, fodder for livestock, and medicinal plants and other commercially valuable flora. This project goal is to protect the rich ecological landscapes and biodiversity of the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Western Himalayan mountain ranges of northern Pakistan. It comprises a package of interventions to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss in the region using a landscape approach. The principal focus of the project is on empowering local communities to manage biodiversity, making them accountable for the quality of their resource stewardship. Four wildlife conservancies will be established representing the biogeographic zones of the high mountains. Within the conservancies, activities will facilitate the in-situ conservation of habitats and species and promote sustainable uses of components of biodiversity. |
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Issues Addressed |
Land resources management, capacity building, biodiversity. |
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Results Achieved |
This project is relatively young, but it builds upon previous efforts in the GEF Pilot Phase and has already reported some important successes in promoting conservation and empowering communities. For example:
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Lessons Learned |
The project complements Pakistan’s new approach towards conservation policies and strategies, emphasizing the need to secure the participation of communities in wider conservation efforts and promote the sustainable utilization of components of biodiversity. This is an approach that has not traditionally been used in mountainous areas. This effort is a direct outgrowth of an earlier GEF project - Maintaining Biodiversity in Pakistan with Rural Community Development – which demonstrated that stable biodiversity conservation can be achieved in a cost-effective manner through a community-based approach. This is expected to be a major avenue for future conservation efforts since the expansion of protected areas will continue to be challenged by population pressures and resource scarcity. |
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Contacts |
Ministry of Environment, Local Government, and
Rural Development Hutton Archer |