Hindukush landscape management plan finalised

CHITRA: A one-day Stakeholders Consultative Workshop was held to conclude the management plan for the Hindukush landscape.

More than 50 stakeholders from various sectors, including the wildlife, forest, livestock and agriculture departments, other government and non-government agencies, and local communities residing in the snow leopard’s habitat, attended the event.

The participants said that the snow leopard, a flagship species in the area, plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem’s health, where humans and nature coexist harmoniously, and its absence can indicate underlying issues.

The Snow Leopard Foundation organised the event, and funding for the project was secured through the Whiteley Award, a global recognition bestowed by the Princess of the UK. The grant was awarded to Dr Ali Nawaz, Dr Shoaib Hameed, and Dr Jaffar Uddin of the Snow Leopard Foundation.

The management plan encompasses all three landscapes, presenting scientific baseline data and a ranking of problems and threats to the snow leopard in a systematic manner during the workshop.

Stakeholders, including women, showed keen interest in the day-long discussions and enriched the contents of the management plans with their inputs and comments. Organisers welcomed these contributions and assured that they would be incorporated and presented to the district forest officer (DFO) of Wildlife in Chitral for further processing within the government system.