Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

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I S S U E S & T R E N D S I N S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T
very limited, however, and confidence in these numbers
is low. Past efforts have largely aimed at regulating
hunting. The current protected areas system—two
National Parks and five Wildlife Sanctuaries—covers
only 0.6% of the land area, located in three of the
NWFP's 12 main ecosystems. This is widely acknowledged
to be inadequate. So is the legislative framework.
The principal threats to biodiversity in the NWFP
are deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, water pollution,
uncontrolled hunting and fishing, and the
spread of modern agriculture, which threatens wild
plants and indigenous varieties of fruits and livestock.
The fish population for many species is reported to
be declining. In the mountainous regions, indiscriminate
netting, construction encroachment in rivers, and
municipal pollution are the major threats. In the valleys,
pollution of the Kabul River and its tributaries (by
municipal wastes and industrial effluent) and intensive
netting are major threats to fish diversity and population.
Some local fish from the Kabul River have already
become rare catches. The proposed diversion of water
from the Indus River for the Ghazi Barotha Hydro
Power Project is likely to aggravate the situation. The
Department of Forests, Fisheries and Wildlife of the
NWFP is managing a large network of lakes, rivers,
and streams that are extensively used for sport and
commercial fishing. About 1,100 kilometres of streams
and 1,500 hectares of lakes are stocked annually with
850,000 fries of trout to meet the angling demand. But
conservation of fish biodiversity has not been a systematic
part of the department's work to date.
Biodiversity conservation is not well understood as
an issue by most people. However, the NWFP has
biological resources such as the snow leopard, western
tragopan pheasant, and elm forests that are of
global significance. In addition, there is a large number
of species whose existence is locally threatened.
Therefore, a biodiversity conservation programme is
essential.
2.1.5
Waterlogging & Salinity
About 40,000 hectares in the NWFP are severely
waterlogged (with the water-table at 0-1.5 metres).
This area increases considerably after the monsoon
12 SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
rains. This is an important factor because most agricultural
crops and even trees cannot withstand prolonged
waterlogging. Most affected are the irrigated basins of
Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, and Bannu. Multi-billion
rupee rehabilitation projects have been undertaken to
fix the problem, but with mixed results. Waterlogging
is best avoided by the proper design of irrigation structures
and farming support systems. The latter treatments
are prohibitively expensive, and pre-empt the use of
scarce resources on other pressing projects.
About 48,500 hectares of cultivated land is now
also saline-sodic—approximately 31,800 hectares in
the irrigated areas and about 16,700 hectares in the
zones not irrigated.
2.2
MAJOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES
The concept of development has steadily been transformed
from technological interventions during the
‘green revolution’ of the 1960s to the current broader
concept of sustainable human development, which
places emphasis on the social well-being of the people
combined with economic development and protection
of the integrity of ecological and human support
systems.
Social factors are understood today as fundamental
to most environmental problems. Growing populations
are exceeding the capacity of the support system,
just as the lack of access to clean drinking water
and inadequate sanitation cause a large number of
diseases. The problem is compounded by the lack of
basic health facilities. Similarly, the low literacy rates
are limiting the opportunities for gainful employment,
perpetrating social insecurity, and discouraging
reduction in the population growth rate. Eventually,
the vicious circle of environmental impoverishment is
reinforced. Some major social indicators of the
NWFP are provided in Table 2.2.
2.2.1
Basic Social Indicators
The NWFP has the second lowest literacy rate
among the provinces of Pakistan. The literacy rate
in 1961 was 14%. By 1981, it had modestly