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Thursday March 28, 2024

Depiction of trials & tribulations of desert communities

Life in Cholistan

By our correspondents
February 27, 2015
Islamabad
Over a dozen selected paintings titled ‘Life in Cholistan’ depicting the charms and miseries of the desert communities were put on display at the Devcom Lounge organised by the Development Communications Network.
The oil on canvas artworks done by the university and college students hailing from Bahawalpur shows the sparking talent of a far flung city. The maturity of compositions, treatment and use of space on the canvas reveals the potential of the students to paint the thematic sequences. The participating students include the five winners; Madiha Ajmal, Haneen Muhammad Asif, Uzma Kanwal, Shafaq Zahra, and Saima Mushtaq.
The exhibition was one of the three outcomes of the First Pakistan Desertcon that was organised by the Devcom-Pakistan, WWF-Pakistan and Islamia University Bahawalpur over a week back. The moot was technically supported by the Cholistan Development Authority, Bahawalpur Museum, Forests and Wildlife departments, Pakistan Council for Research on Water Resources (PCRWR), and Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan. Briefing about the outcome of the First Pakistan Desertcon, the Devcom- Pakistan Director Munir Ahmed said that the main outcome of the moot was an outline for the larger and inclusive development strategy for the Cholistan desert.
It was the first initiative that engaged 60 students from different universities from Peshawar, Abbottabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Bahawalpur; faculty members of Islamia University Bahawalpur, development experts, government organisations, civil society and media reps altogether for a field visit and a moot.
Munir Ahmed said, the speakers at the moot had consensus that Cholistan needs integrated and inclusive development efforts for the better future of desert and its communities to combat the impact of climate change. Five thematic working groups had three-day field visit to find out the factual stories of grass-root miseries and hardcore realities of the desert communities in the fields of agriculture and livestock, water, biodiversity, ecotourism and culture. Some very startling findings of the moot reveals that there is no mechanism to promote appropriate agricultural practices in the desert, and with no adequate information available, biodiversity is being compromised due to negligence.
A large piece of Cholistan is given to Houbara Foundation being run by the UAE employees. It is the hunting field for the Arabs. Flora and Fauna is not categorised properly, and their habitat is disturbed by the external elements and human interventions. Water development and conservation strategies are absent. The cultural values are diminishing and the heritage sites are unattended. The traditional housing called ‘gopa’ is being replaced by the mud/clay houses. With the population migrating to nearby towns, the total population around Derawar Fort is just 500 houses including 150 of the Hindus.
The declaration of the moot based on recommendations of the working groups suggests establishing of a larger all-stakeholders forum to initiate an integrated sustainable development strategy for the Cholistan desert.
The declaration suggests promoting indigenous groups for the cultivation of desert land instead of external elements. The Cholistan desert has rich culture that if restored and showcased adequately would bring immense increase in tourism. The comfortable ‘gopas’ (traditional Cholistani houses) shall be built for the tourists with all cultural attractions to charm the tourists. It would become major alternate source of income for the natives. Exclusive craft shops shall be part of these especially built ‘gopas’. The moot also suggests training of locals to practice eco-tourism strategies. The bio-diversity could be the main source of earning for the locals if a part of the desert converted to a safari park. The moot recommends long term public-private partnership to develop, market and mainstream livelihood alternatives.