‘Climate change threat to wildlife

Islamabad: Climate Change Minister Mushahidullah Khan said the government was striving to boost efforts for the protection of the country’s wildlife and their habitats, particularly snow leopard, from worsening efforts of impacts of global warming-induced climate change.

“The human-caused climate change has become today a major threat to the survival of the wildlife and their habitats and deforestation and conversion of forest lands for non-forestry uses were making climate change-related impacts only worse for the sustainability of the wildlife,” he highlighted during a meeting with Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, regional director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – Asia (IUCN-Asia).

He said further during the meeting held in his office in the climate change ministry that the country was home to a diverse array of wildlife ranging from the highest peaks, to the driest deserts, to freshwater and marine environments and to all the places in between.

"The abundant and diverse wildlife resources, which are so important to our culture and well-being, face a bleak future if we do not address global warming collectively."

He told Ms. Kabraji that the present government was taking all-out efforts for protection of wilidilfe and their habtats from both climate and human-related threats and this was the central goal of the Rs10 billion Green Pakistan Programme launched by the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif being implemented in all provinces in collaboration with the provincial forest and wilidilfe department.

The IUCN’s regional director, Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, assured her organisation’s all-out support in all possible forms for protecting the country’s wilidlife and their habitats as well as ecosystems and overall biodiversity.” She also briefed the minister about various environment and climate change-related programmes, particularly mangroves conservation programme in Sindh and Balochistan provicnes, being spearheaded by IUCN International for boosting the country’s climate resilience and achieving overall environmental development and conservation and protection of natural resources of Pakistan.

Thanking the IUCN for its conservation efforts in the country, the climate change minister Mushahidullah Khan urged her to help country build up its capacity building, transfer of technical know-how and technology required for coping with environmental and climate change-caused threats to the country’s overall environment, wildlife and their habitats.

Mushahidullah Khan also highlighted during the meeting that he would also lobby with international wildlife experts and biologists at the upcoming International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum in Bishkek for establishment of a permanent set-up in Pakistan for the protection and conservation of the snow leopard that lives in the country’s snow-capped mountains.

Being held from Bishkek capital city of Kyrgyz Republic from August 24, the two-day International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum will bring together heads and representatives of the Governments of the 12 snow leopard range countries as well as of other interested nations with leaders from international institutions, donor agencies, conservation organizations, and scientific institutions.

The event aims to strengthen the existing efforts of the range countries to protect the snow leopard. The ambitious target is to get international support for securing 20 snow leopard landscapes by 2020. Apart from the snow leopard range countries representatives, the forum will also be attended by other representatives of the conservation community — interested countries and leaders from international institutions, donor agencies, conservation organizations and scientific institutions.

This high-level event aims to further strengthen the range countries’ ongoing effort to protect the snow leopard, and to galvanize international support for their ambitious plan of securing 20 snow leopard landscapes by the year 2020.

The meeting was attended by high officials of the climate change ministry and representatives IUCN-Pakistan office.