CHITRAL, Feb 18: NWFP Minister for Environment Abbas Khan has called upon President Pervez Musharraf and the federal minister for environment to help the provincial government avail of an opportunity of foreign investment in biodiversity conservation in the country.

In a semi-official letter, addressed to the federal minister for environment and rural development, Mr Khan has expressed his apprehensions that a project, approved by the council of the World Bank’s Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to conserve three protected areas, may be shelved due to red tape.

The Chitral Gole National Park (CGNP), Machhiara (Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Hangol Natioal Park (Balochistan) have been selected for the “Protected Areas Management Project” that will cost $10.75 million over a period of five years.

The project is meant for natural resources conservation, habitat improvement, development of ecotourism and community participation programme directed mainly towards the conservation of globally-endangered species of flora and fauna.

But the project awaits finalization of an agreement with the World Bank. An agreement between the government of Pakistan and the WB was scheduled to be signed in May 2001 and the project was to be launched in July 2002, but the WB has held up the fund for want of response and assurance from the planning and development division about the status of Hangol Dam’s construction.

The inordinate delay in the signing of the agreement has adversely affected the provincial exchequer on account of the salaries and emoluments being given to the staff already employed for the project.

The minister remarked that opportunities for conservation of protected areas must be grabbed and funds and grants be accepted particularly when the country’s resources did not allow much investment in the field.

He urged the president and the federal minister to ensure early signing of the required agreement, fearing that any further delay might lead to the dropping of the project by the GEF council.