ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Royal Netherlands Embassy signed a $7.5 million mega project, the Balochistan partnerships for sustainable development, here on Wednesday.

With an overall goal of sustained human and ecological well- being in Balochistan, the six-year programme to be implemented by the IUCN along with its partners focuses on key components such as environmental governance, integrated water resource and coastal zone management and multi-stakeholder capacity-building for sustainable development.

Dutch Ambassador Willem Andreae and IUCN Regional Director Aban Marker Kabraji signed the agreement at a ceremony at the Dutch embassy. IUCN Country Representative Sohail Maqbool Malik was also present on the occasion.

Despite being the largest province of Pakistan in terms of land area, Balochistan remains sparsely populated due to lack of infrastructural development and is home to only five per cent of the country’s population.

The bulk of the labour force is employed in agriculture, mainly livestock rearing and dryland farming as only one-third of the total land area of the province is productive. The watersheds and rangelands comprising 94 per cent of total land area of the province are highly degraded.

Over-grazing, illegal logging and uprooting of vegetation by locals and Afghan refugees have exacerbated the situation. Due to surface water scarcity and heavy withdrawal of groundwater, the water situation has become extremely precarious and is slowly leading to ecological disaster and irreparable damage to the diverse and rich biodiversity of the province.

The uplift plan not only addresses these key issues that have a direct impact on human well-being and livelihoods but also the vertical and horizontal linkages and alliances between government, civil society, private sector and natural resource users.

Additionally, climate change and desertification also remain cross-cutting themes while addressing these issues.

Although focusing on field initiatives, partnership and alliance building and capacity enhancement, the uplift plan would primarily be a continuation of the Balochistan Programme (2002-7) that helped the district governments develop and formulate integrated development visions (IDVs) in Gwadar and Qilla Saifullah.