January 18, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 27, 1427

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MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 17: A World Bank supervision mission has expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the execution of the Machiara National Park project in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which is being funded by the Washington-based Global Environment Facility (GEF).

“AJK has shown remarkable performance and we have always been satisfied with it,” said the bank’s biodiversity specialist, Malcolm Jansen, in response to a question put by Dawn at the conclusion of a review and evaluation meeting here on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended among others by the director of the AJK wildlife department, Yousaf Qureshi, World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) officials and representatives of communities living in the park area, which is situated northwest of Muzaffarabad. The WWF-P is offering consultancy services for the Rs211 million project.

Supposed to be completed in five years, the project was initiated in March of 2003 amid some controversy.

Officials say it is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Mr Qureshi, who is also the project director, said although the 2005 earthquake had adversely affected the scheme, it had served to end the resistance put up by the communities residing in the project area.

The communities had lately realised that their dependence on the forest resources was affecting the habitat of the wildlife and biodiversity in their area.

Spread over 33,437 acres, the park is part of the GEF-funded programme called “Protected Areas Management Project”. Other projects under the programme include the Hangol National Park project in Balochistan and the Chitral Gol National Park project in the NWFP.

Mr Jansen said the level of awareness in the communities, government circles and media in the AJK was high and coordination mechanism was much better as compared to the Balochistan and NWFP schemes.