Mountain conservation is vital for economic development: Zartaj

State minister for climate change calls for integrated and comprehensive plans

ISLAMABAD:  

Mountaineering and tourism can bring much-awaited prosperity and economic development to the northern parts of the country. For this purpose, the government had relaxed visa rules for foreign tourists.

This was disclosed by State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the ninth Pakistan Mountain Festival organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom)-Pakistan in Islamabad ion Thursday.

She stated that the hardworking natives of mountains of the country are custodians of indigenous knowledge, folklore and culture.

The junior minister said that Pakistan features mountains for high altitude trekking, adventure tourism, scenic attractions, landscapes and lakes which can prove to be a draw for foreign tourists.

For this purpose, Wazir said that the government has relaxed the visa policy for foreign tourists to enhance the tourism influx.

The state minister further said that to make tourism viable in mountain communities, the government was working on providing power to mountain communities through alternative energy sources. In turn, she hoped that this will decrease the pressure on forests in these areas.

Moreover, Wazir said that they will work to sensitise residents of mountain communities to protect their resources from exploiters of natural resources — such as illegal miners and loggers.

The state minister, though, pointed out how poverty was another factor for mountain communities to lag behind more developed areas in the country and other developed mountain communities.

“We need integrated and comprehensive plans to combat the climate challenge, poverty and disaster risk reduction,” Wazir said.

Pakistan Youth Hostels Association (PYHA) National Secretary Ambassador (retired) Qazi Humayun said that they have 13 hostels located mostly in the mountains which could be used for engaging the youth and students from other parts of the country in different mountain conservation initiatives.

The mountain environment, he said, is rapidly changing and mountains are swiftly losing their beauty and charm day by day.

“We need to act briskly to save the natural eco-habitats,” he said.

Devcom-Pakistan Director and the founder of the Pakistan Mountain Festival Munir Ahmed said that the main focus of the festival was to engage the youth and mountain communities, both up and downstream to create a synergy for raising a voice for mountain conservation and development.

“Mountains are on the frontline of climate impact and require active investment plans to protect nature and natural resources besides investing in the natives’ livelihood and for the protection of their lives and infrastructure,” Ahmed said.

Later, the state minister distributed awards and souvenirs amongst the partners of the festival. Well-known mountain conservationist Ashiq Ahmad Khan was awarded the first Agostino Da Polenza award. Tourism expert Aftabur Rehman received the first Ashraf Aman Mountain Tourism Award while the first Shoaib Sultan Khan Mountain Community Development Award was given to Syed Yehya Shah from Gilgit-Baltistan.

The first Pakistani to climb K2m Ashraf Aman, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Chief Executive Officer Qazi Azmat Isa, WaterAid Advocacy Coordinator Zartasha Niazi, Aga Khan Rural Support  Programme Manager Altaf Hussain Shah, and the Italian Development Organisation Ev-K2-CNR Country Coordinator Riazul Hassan were also present on the occasion.