The Ministry of Climate Change
and IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, on Thursday,
rolled out a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), to
synergize efforts across the country towards the conservation of biodiversity,
and to prevent further declines in animal and plant species.
The workshop was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Climate
Change, the provincial departments of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, IUCN,
the media and other stakeholders organized a workshop on the National
Biodiversity and Action Plan (NBSAP) in consultation with provincial and
national stakeholders.
“A workshop held few days back , workshop is essentially a depiction of the
effort that IUCN and the Ministry of Climate Change are putting in to try and
preserve whatever we have in this country,” observed Mr. Arif Ahmed Khan,
Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change. “There are 20 targets, and even if half
of those are achieved, we will have achieved a great deal,” added the Secretary.
“This revised NBSAP is the first big step and I hope that in the next few years,
we will begin to feel what this project has been aiming to achieve,” he noted.
NBSAP represents Pakistan's consolidated road map for achieving the
international Aichi Biodiversity Targets under the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) to which Pakistan is a signatory. The development of the NBSAP
centers on establishing coordination and implementation mechanisms at provincial
levels for better mainstreaming of biodiversity into all sectors of development.
The process is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) and
IUCN with inputs and consultations with the provinces.
As a result, “NBSAP will be the sum total of provincial PBSAPs. The whole
process not only identifies the strategies, actions and targets to be achieved
but also generates ownership of the Provincial BSAPs and strengthened the
coordination mechanism.
The Minister for Forest, Wildlife and Environment, Government of Balochistan,
Mr. Obaidullah Jan Babat, also participated and ensured endorsement of the
process in Balochistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naeem Ashraf Raja, Director of Biodiversity
Programme at the MoCC, said:“Our main purpose is that our indigenous species are
protected and do not go extinct. NBSAP is just aligning our work with the Aichi
Targets. If we can do some studies, as to where we stand on biodiversity and can
place values to ecosystems, as well as the cost of inaction, we will be able to
present a strong casebefore our policy makers so that they too are able to
appreciate the urgency we're showing in this matter,” added Mr. Raja.“The MoCC
gives due credit of the progress to the provinces and territories that have been
instrumental in contributing to achieving the Aichi targets. This clearly shows
that awareness about the biodiversity conservation and sustainable use has
increased and biodiversity concerns are getting incorporated in sectoral and
cross sectoral policies and plans.”
Dr. Javed Ahmad of IUCN, who has been spearheading the process jointly with the
Directorate of Biodiversity, described NBSAP as a document that belonged to the
provinces, allowing for inputs in a structured process so that the sum total of
all provinces is created to represent Pakistan's national plan on biodiversity
conservation aligned to Aichi Targets.
“At the start of the process all the provinces and territories were requested to
facilitate the participatory planning and consultations with key resource
persons and institutions. All the departments and their relevant officials
participated and supported the process in full spirit,” Dr. Javed elaborated.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Country Representative of
IUCN Pakistan, called for concerted efforts to tackle biodiversity related
issues and explained the role IUCN had played in driving the process forward in
consultation with MoCC. “This indeed is a very important event where we are
finalizing our strategy and action plan on the biodiversity of Pakistan with a
joint and concerted effort. It is a highly comprehensive process that the MoCC
and IUCN have undertaken. The participation of provinces in this process and the
ownership towards the national agenda is a strength that we bring together in
this room and across the country,” explained Mr. Cheema.