Moot highlights women’s role in nature conservation

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Chief of Staff, Jody Lyle, Thursday said women's role in nature conservation and national park service as active and competent guardians of nature was gaining pace in the United States which was a role model for the societies and other countries to take inspiration.

The US embassy organised an event to interact with young students and media at the Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi to discuss her journey and achievements while serving at different national parks at home and abroad which will be serving as a source of motivation for young girls and university graduates intending to pursue their careers as nature guards and conservationists.

Addressing the gathering at the Lincoln's Corner Library, Chief of Staff Jody Lyle said the US National Park Service was a civilian agency established in 1916 which includes almost 20,000 employees across the US with a budget of $3.48 billion. The protected areas or national parks comprised 423 sites with a total area sprawling over 30 million hectares.

She highlighted that recreation was a big challenge as 180 million people lived next to the national park. However, the national park service used to hire trail crews for maintenance of the forest area and trails. In 1978, a backbone trail was conceived and started in Santa Monica Mountains National Park which was completed in 2016.

She added that the Park was mostly funded by government finance. “However, we generate revenue through permits and leasing largely for filming and still photography. Hollywood producers still come to us and pay the fee for film shooting.”

The Wildfires, she said, were another challenge as due to climate change wildfire regimes were changing rapidly and it demanded new regimes to cope with the risk. “The national park service at Santa Monica works closely with sister agencies to put out fires in time.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2023.