Development strategy for N.Areas launched: Keeping tiles on the 'Roof of the World'
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: Natural resource degradation coupled with growing population, haphazard development process and host of other challenges threatens the delicate mountain ecosystem and livelihoods of the mountain communities inhabiting 'the roof of the world'.
Addressing this situation, a policy framework for the sustainable development of Gilgit-Baltistan or Northern Areas was unveiled at the third IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok on Sunday, an IUCN statement issued here said.
Federal Minister for Environment Maj (retired) Tahir Iqbal launched the strategy at a ceremony in the Media Centre of the World Conservation Congress. "Northern Areas is a unique mix of culture and nature; spanning an area of 72,400 square kilometres, the region serves as vital catchments for the Indus River, upon which a majority of Pakistan's irrigated agriculture and hydroelectricity depends.
"It also contains the country's most important natural forests, rich mineral reserves and a wealth of biodiversity", the environment minister said. Dramatic scenery, some of the world's highest mountains and a variety of cultural and archaeological sites make it a prime tourism attraction, explained the minister.
"The strategy provides a comprehensive roadmap for the sustainable development of the Northern Areas. It also responds to the provisions and recommendations of the National Conservation Strategy, adopted by the Government of Pakistan in 1992," said Abdul Latif Rao, IUCN Country Representative.
Sandwiched between Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China, Gilgit-Baltistan or the Northern Areas is the meeting point of four great mountain ranges - Karakorams, Pamirs, Himalayas and the Hindukush. It is also home to world largest glaciers outside the poles.
Over the past decades, many of the Northern Areas' natural resources have come under increasing pressure, from a growing human population and the opening of the Karakoram Highway which links Pakistan and China.
At the same time, the isolated nature of many communities, coupled with the region's high-altitude and fragile environment, poses special constraints and challenges to the socio-economic development of the region.
The strategy, which is based on a process initiated in 1999, presents a series of recommendations to improve governance, natural resource management and the involvement of local communities in development processes.
"The steps outlined in this document provide the key to ensuring a sustainable future for the people living in this fragile mountain ecosystem," Mr Rao added. Based on the consultation process behind the strategy, a report on state of environment and development has also been published.
Papers on water, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, rangeland, livestock, and the private sector have also been prepared by the IUCN. A documentary film entitled Moving Mountains about the Northern Areas was also screened on the occasion.
