Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

P
REFACE
The Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy
is a Sustainable Development Action Plan for
P a k i s t a n ’s North West Frontier Province and
re p resents a significant milestone in the eff o rt to
implement Pakistan’s National Conserv a t i o n
S t r a t e g y. Action plans are needed at the pro v i ncial
level to guide government departments, nong
o v e rnmental organizations, the private sector,
and individual citizens. The SPCS is the first such
p rovincial eff o rt. It was approved by the NWFP
Cabinet in June 1996 and implementation is
a l ready underw a y.
The NWFP has a complex set of socio-economic,
cultural and environmental factors that necessitate
the adjustment of NCS priorities to re f l e c t
p rovincial realities. Thus, while issues such as cons
e rvation, sustainable re s o u rce management and
biodiversity remain important priorities, as in the
NCS, governance, a stronger civil society, poverty
alleviation, conservation of the cultural heritage
and ecotourism receive more emphasis than in the
NCS.
The SPCS team included a diverse set of environmental
management and related specialists in
an important partnership between govern m e n t
and non-governmental organizations. It continued
the national process of capacity development,
and this improvement is evident in the government,
which had little environment expertise until
just a few years ago. Similarly, the SPCS helped
to strengthen the non-governmental enviro n m e n t
s e c t o r, including IUCN-The World Conserv a t i o n
U n i o n ’s own effectiveness in the NWFP. Indeed
much of the original team is still together today,
p a rticipating in the implementation of the SPCS.
The Strategy’s development process placed a
g reat emphasis on public involvement, taking the
consultation process out of Peshawar, first to 21
district workshops and, later, to 40 more villages.
Sector meetings with government depart m e n t s ,
the private sector and academia complemented
the process. After the NCS, this was one of the
first times that public policy formulation was
u n d e rtaken outside the capital city. The results are
manifest in the SPCS recommendations. They
reflect the variations in the natural re s o u rce base,
economic activities, and socio-cultural conditions
a c ross the province.
The NCS is stated to provide the direction and
central re f e rence point against which sustainability
can be measured within the provincial plans. As
we achieve pro g ress, it is essential that the institutions,
legal system, NGOs and citizens continue to
contribute towards sustainable development and
t o w a rds maintaining the pro v i n c e ’s direction.
With the approval of the SPCS, the
G o v e rnment of NWFP has taken a leap forw a rd
in fulfilling its obligations to the people of the
p rovince, the country as a whole and to the global
community.
SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY vii