Students clean up Margalla Hills Trail 5

More than one hundred university students and nature lovers participated in the hiking and clean-up drive at Margalla Hills Trail-5 after an interactive session on wildlife and biological diversity of the Margalla Hills on Saturday.

The day-long event was organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan), DTN and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWM) in connection with the ongoing two-week-long 12th Pakistan Mountain Festival.

Pakistan Mountain Festival is the annual flagship event of Devcom-Pakistan to commemorate the UN’s International Mountain Day (IMD) which falls on December 11. The students of CS Adventure Club of the COMSATS University Islamabad Campus, SZABIST Islamabad Campus and GBC Council participated in the event. Before the nature walk and clean-up, the IWMB chairman scientific committee ZB Mirza briefed the participants about the biological diversity and natural heritage of the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).

ZB Mirza said that the Margalla Hills National Park has stayed neglected since it was established in 1980. Although, it is the third-largest national park in the world with an area of 17,386 hectares (42,960 acres) under the foothills of the Himalayas. In the recent decade, its importance was realised after seeing the impact of unwanted haphazard constructions and the movement of vehicles more than their carrying capacity. Therefore, many initiatives have been taken to protect wildlife and biological diversity including raising awareness among the communities living in the area.

Mirza urged the youth to respect diversity of species and help manage wildlife and human beings live together. The park is rich in biodiversity, especially rich in Sino-Himalayan fauna, most notably gray gorals, barking deer and leopards. MHNP is home to around 600 plant species, 402 bird varieties, 38 mammals, and 27 species of reptiles.

IWM Deputy Director Umme Habia said under the new management, IWMB has taken many steps for the protection of the park and the visitors. Many cases of woodcutting and forest fires were averted. The renovated IWMB nature education centres are the hub of activities and awareness raising sessions, and community engagement, she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director and Founder of Pakistan Mountain festival Munir Ahmed said that Margalla Hills National Park is increasingly becoming a focus of visitors and illegal constructions. Solid waste management and littering have increased manifold despite several interventions by IWMB and civil society organisations. The environment unfriendly practices have damaged the natural resources in all three parts of the National Park including hills, Rawal Lake and Sharkarparian because of their irrational policies, he complained.

Ahmed said that “We should encourage youth for environment-friendly outdoor pursuits”. It is good for their mental and physical health besides making them responsible visitors to nature.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2022.