Mountain conservation vital for economic development: Zartaj Gull

Islamabad: Youth shall be sensitised to take care of the Pakistan Mountains that are second to none. Mountaineering and tourism can bring much awaited prosperity and economic development to the northern parts of the country. The hardworking natives of the mountains are the custodians of the indigenous knowledge, folklore and culture.

Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 9th Pakistan Mountain Festival organised by the Devcom-Pakistan here at a café gallery on Thursday.

The first K2 climber Ashraf Aman, Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Qazi Azmat Isa, National Secretary of the Pakistan Youth Hostels Association (PYHA) Ambassador (r) Qazi Humayun, WaterAid Advocacy coordinator Zartasha Niazi, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme Manager Altaf Hussain Shah, and Country Coordinator of the Italian development organisation Ev-K2-CNR Riazul Hassan were also present on the occasion. She said we have unmatchable mountains for high altitude trekking and scenic attractions, landscapes and lakes to enthuse the foreign tourists. The government has relaxed the visa policy for the foreign tourists to enhance the tourism influx. The minister said provision of alternate energy to the mountain communities would decrease pressure on the mountain forests. They also be sensitised to protect their resources from the exploiters of the natural resources. Poverty is another reason for the mountain communities to lagging behind. We need to have integrated and comprehensive plans to combatting the climate challenge, poverty and disaster risk reduction.

The State Minister appreciated the Devcom-Pakistan (Development Communications Network) for consistently developing and strengthening the Pakistan Mountain Festival, a flagship annual thematic advocacy event that engages the stakeholders up and downstream.

PYHA National Secretary Ambassador (r) Qazi Humayun said that the PYHA has thirteen hostels mostly in the mountains that could be used for engaging local youth and students from other parts of the country in to different mountain conservation initiatives. He said the mountain environment is rapidly changing and the mountains are losing their beauty and charms day by day. We need to act briskly to save the natural eco-habitats.

Speaking on the occasion, Devcom-Pakistan Director and the founder of Pakistan Mountain Festival Munir Ahmed said the festival was main focusing on engaging youth and mountain communities up and downstream to create a synergy for raising voice for mountain conservation and development. Mountains are on the frontline of climate impact and need more active plans of investment to protect nature and natural resources besides investing in the natives’ livelihood and for the protection of their lives and infrastructure.

The Minister of State for Climate Change also distributed awards and souvenirs among the partners of the festival. Well-known mountain conservationist Ashiq Ahmad Khan was conferred upon the first Agostino Da Polenza award. Tourism expert Aftab ur Rehman received first Ashraf Aman Mountain Tourism Award while first Shoaib Sultan Khan Mounai Community Development Award was given to Syed Yehya Shah from Gilgit-Baltistan. The recipients of the Friends of Mountain Awards included Zeeshan Hussain. The award winning journalists included Afshan S Khan, Gibran Ashraf, Rahul Basharat, Zubair Qureshi, and photojournalists Syed Mehdi, Sultan Bashir, Afzaal Chaudhary and Saleem Rana.