CHITRAL: In a first for local conservation efforts, the Chitral Gol Community for Conservation & Development Association (CGCCDA) has established exclusive women village conservation committees (WVCCs) across 10 villages bordering the Chitral Gol National Park.
The milestone initiative was formalised during an inception workshop for the project, titled ‘reactivation and strengthening of 10 women village conservation committees in and around Chitral Gol National Park’.
Leading conservationists, development partners, and government officials termed the move a groundbreaking model that should be replicated across other protected regions in the country.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders to align on project timelines, roles, and implementation strategies. In attendance were representatives from the wildlife department, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), CGCCDA project team and WVCCs.
“No sustainable conservation is possible without the active, coordinated, and planned participation of women,” conservationist and CGCCDA board member Altaf Ali Shah stated, emphasising that empowering local women is crucial for safeguarding the region’s unique biodiversity.
The session served as a platform to highlight WVCCs as vehicles for meaningful female participation in natural resource management. Participants discussed the current institutional, financial, and operational hurdles facing these committees, stressing the need for systematic, long-term strengthening.
Project technical facilitator Hamid Ahmad Mir presented a comprehensive implementation framework, detailing the project’s core objectives, monitoring mechanisms, and stakeholder responsibilities. The forum concluded with a consensus on establishing a robust baseline and mobilising extra resources to keep the project realistic and highly responsive to community needs.
CGCCDA chairman Saleemuddin and general secretary Hussain Ahmad reaffirmed their organisation’s unwavering technical and institutional backing for the WVCCs and underscored that women must play a central role in both community life and biodiversity preservation.
With the work plan officially endorsed by the wildlife department, AKRSP, and community leaders, the project is set to provide a renewed, sustainable institutional platform for women living around the buffer zone of the Chitral Gol National Park.
RELIEF GOODS: A consignment of 10 trucks loaded with relief goods sent by the Sindh government for the flood-hit Chitral was distributed among the affected families on Monday.
The distribution was carried out through the Pakistan Red Crescent Society under the supervision of Pakistan People’s Party, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, where former MNA Najmuddin Khan and former provincial minister Salim Khan were also present. The PPP provincial president extended his gratitude to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Sindh chief minister, and the Sindh government for dispatching the relief items to Chitral.
Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2026
