Preserving flora, fauna: Biodiversity park in Murree opens in March

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:

The first-of-its-kind biodiversity park which opens next month in Murree aims to provide natural habitat to local flora and fauna and will serve as a tourist destination.

The park, developed at a cost of Rs92.183 million by the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) with the technical and professional support of International Union for the Conservation of Nature, will open during the first week of March.

The park is being developed for preserving local flora and fauna, said an official of the EPD.

The park will also facilitate research on issues related to biodiversity and provide a natural habitat for the endangered local species, he added.

Spread over 41 acres, the park also aims to remove anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing, wood collection, waste dumping, sewage and land erosion in the biggest tourist spot of the country, the official said.

A library on flora and fauna will also provide relevant information to visitors and researchers and the park management plans to hire services of professional guides to assist tourists, the official said.

EPD Secretary Iqbal Muhammad Chauhan said the third party evaluation of the park’s structure was complete and it was now ready to be opened for the general public. “It would provide natural habitat to local flora and fauna according to international standards,” he said.

The biodiversity director at the Ministry of Climate Change Naeem Ashraf Raja, when contacted, said the park will be a recreational cum awareness park for tourists visiting the hill station.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2015.