Ecological settings of MHNP facing numerous challenges

Islamabad : Various factors are adversely affecting the ecological settings of Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) that serves as ‘lungs’ of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to the data collected from various official sources, the factors that are posing threats to ecological settings of MHNP include waste disposal, livestock population, wood theft, hunting, and netting.

It is observed that solid waste generated on a daily basis in some 40 villages in the vicinity of MHNP is spread in the open or dumped in depression and burnt. The dumped waste is also used as manure by the villagers, but throwing refuse creates an imbalance of species. The scavenger populations tend to increase in the vicinity of the houses, which subsequently attracts predator species. These predators may also prey upon rare birds in the national park.

The sewerage water from the villages also flows down the slopes in the national park. Only one village in the national park has a soak-pit for a limited quantity of water.

The livestock population of the communities in the national park breaks down into thousands of cows, donkeys, and goats. These communities procure fodder for their animals from the national park. Overgrazing in the national park also makes the soil more compact. Washing clothes and bathing is also a common practice and contaminates the water flowing downstream of the springs.

All of the villages in the area collect wood from the forest areas to meet their fuel needs. Only a handful of villages have Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) stoves. However, even these households bake bread or 'roti' in 'tandoors', which consume large quantities of wood.

The hunting and killing of barking deer and gorals and the netting of partridges have been reported. Occasionally, the eggs of the Kaleej pheasant are stolen. Other factors that degrade bird habitats include road networks, vehicular traffic, the establishment of new restaurants, and soil erosion.