HINGOL National Park has been notified as a national park in 1997, having an area of over 1.5m acres. It has been established to protect marine estuarine and terrestrial fauna, such as the marsh crocodile, green turtle, masher fish, houbara bustard, dalmatian pelican, spot-billed pelican, plumbeous dolphin, Sindh ibex, urial, chinkara and pangolin.

Its land falls in the three districts of Lasbela, Gwadar and Awaran. On Nov 9, Balochistan Minister for Information and Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Raheem Ziaratwal tabled the Balochistan Protection and Preservation of Forest and Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2015 in the provincial assembly.

The Balochistan government, consequently, handed over 9,000 acres of the Hongol National Park land to a federal agency in a move that not only subverted rules of the provincial legislature but also threatens the precious flora and fauna in the region.

The area that has been left with the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) falls in the core zone of the national park. It has great potential for wild flora and fauna and it is excellent habitat of chinkara and urial.

Besides, according to the Balochistan Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act 2014, not only inside the national park but also in its buffer zones there is no provision of carrying out any such activity.

The Forest and Wildlife Department of Balochistan has shown its reservations and concerns over such acquisitions.

In the past, in the case of allotment of Hingol National Park to PAF, the World Bank had shown its concerns and in the event of such an allotment to Suparco the matter will again turn into an issue with the World Bank and Funds for Protected Areas (FPA).

Under an environmental agreement, the prestigious global environment facility has been providing considerable financial support to the national park through the World Bank. Taking such step amounts to a clear violation of international environment agreements.

Naeem Javid

Quetta

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015