Efforts on to seek help of local community for protecting forest cover

Islamabad: An awareness campaign is now underway in the villages falling in the vicinity of the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) to raise the importance of the protection of the natural environment.

According to the details, the awareness sessions are being held in mosques for the first time in which the prayer leaders are also highlighting the teachings of Islam that advocate for the protection of trees, forests, and natural ecological systems.

The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has formed different teams that pay visits to mosques and other places to interact with the local people and seek their help to maintain the green character of MHNP.

An official said a team of IWMB held an awareness session with the local community at Jamia Mosque in Kanthla village. It aimed at stopping illegal activities that were destroying the natural beauty of the national park.

The official said the efforts to ensure the protection of forest cover need the cooperation of the local people due to which they have also included the inmates of the villages into the committees that have been interacting with other people and urging them to play their role to stop illegal activities in the national park.

An official of the climate change ministry said the Margalla hills are now part of the national parks established on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The federal government is now focusing more on the MHNP because there are reports that various elements are involved in illegal removal of the forest area for commercial purposes,” he said.

He said, “The climate change ministry will prepare a comprehensive report that will also carry recommendations to improve ecological settings of MHNP under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project.”

The IWMB chairperson said the awareness campaign is underway that would help protect the forest cover in the national park with the help of the local community.