PM calls for preservation of leopard zone

The aim of the move is to ensure natural habitat for the endangered species

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed officials concerned to set up a leopard preservation zone in the capital’s Margalla hills to ensure natural habitat for the endangered species.

Addressing the third meeting of the PM’s committee on Climate Change, the prime minister also approved establishment of Wildlife Information Center at Islamabad’s Marghzar Zoo.

The special leopard zone will provide healthy eco-system to the predators, permanently inhabiting the hills. The prime minister in principle accorded approval for the National Climate Change Policy, 2021 and the National Wildlife Policy, 2021.

Read Margalla Hills to have leopard reserve

He also directed to form a think-tank to coordinate efforts among various ministries and to devise out-of-the-box solutions for climate change mitigation.

Khan said Pakistan had established its credibility as a ‘Green Champion’ because of its flagship Ten Billion Tree programme, started by the party’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He pointed out that international community was acknowledging Pakistan’s realistic and tangible steps to mitigate affects of climate change.

The prime minister directed the Ministry of Climate Change to review targets and formulate new targets aiming at fast-tracking the steps required to preserve the natural environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2021.