Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP)
Case Study C0217
[edit]
| Date | 2006 |
| Agency | IUCN Pakistan |
| Donor/support agency | Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan Government of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Northern Areas Administration Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF) WWF Pakistan Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) GEF UNDP |
| Project type | Implemented by agency |
| Context(s) | Community conserved area |
| Geographic coverage | Pakistan |
| Locality | Karakuram, Hindukush and the Western Himalayan Mountain Ranges |
| Biodiversity focus | Ecosystem/landscape |
| Development focus | Local communities |
| Conservation goals | Conserve the biodiversity of the Karakorum, Western Himalayan and Hindu Kush mountain ranges |
| Poverty reduction goals | Improve the livelihoods of local people by enhancing their involvement in conservation activities |
Summary
The biological diversity of the Karakorum, Western Himalayan and Hindu Kush mountain ranges in northern Pakistan is of vital importance globally. However, traditional practices of top down conservation approaches, coupled with poor enforcement of legislation, lead to severe degradation of the available resources. Realizing the extent of this deterioration, the Ministry of Environment of Pakistan and IUCN decided to implement a community-based conservation project, the Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP) (Phase I: 1999–2006). Broadly speaking, MACP is based on the premise that conservation activities are unlikely to be sustainable over the long term unless local communities are actively involved. Therefore, the project has focused on three major objectives: a) empowering, organizing and enhancing the capacity of local communities to conserve biodiversity; b) enhancing the value of biodiversity for the local people; c) creating a policy, legal, and financial framework that supports community-based conservation.
Conservation activities were undertaken in four geographically distinct conservancies with a combined total area of about 16,300 km2 (covering 67 valleys and including 277,000 people). Two of these, Nanga Parbat and Gojal, are in the Northern Areas (NA) in the Western Himalaya and Karakorum respectively, and another two, Tirichmir and Qashqar, are located in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in the Hindu Kush.
Conservation impact
The following are some of the ahievements of the project to date:
- a hunting ban and grazing management practices were implemented with the support of local people;
- joint forest management plans prioritizing conservation as a major source of livelihood were implemented;
- fuel wood, fodder and fruit tree plantations have been encouraged with 1.06 million seedlings, including 0.04 million fruit trees, grown on a cost-sharing basis across the four Conservancies;
- medicinal and aromatic herbs collection is being better managed: management plans for 27 species were developed and net benefits were increased through improved collection and processing techniques for 24 species;
- poaching has been reduced, thus improving the big game population.
Poverty reduction impact
The following are some of the ahievements of the project to date:
- education and training programmes succeeded in raising environmental awareness;
- national and foreign hunters bagged trophies of 58 ibex, 16 markhor and 2 blue sheep in three hunting seasons (2002-2004), generating an income of US$ 728,813, split 80:20 between the communities and the government;
- wildlife viewing is now a regular eco-tourism option in the Conservancies, with a substantial portion of the profits re-invested in conservation;
- Valley Conservation Funds (VCFs) were created to ensure financial resources at the local level to produce income for the communities as an incentive for engaging in conservation.
Strategy for Conservation/Poverty Linkages
Enabling local participation in policy-/decision- making processes
Revenue sharing
Reference 1
http://www.macp-pk.org
Reference 2
http://www.iucn.org/en/projects/pakistan_mountain_conservancy.htm
More information
Raja Attaullah Khan, National Project Manager-MACP, IUCN
Phone: +92 51 2270686-7
Related records above this one:
- IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) (Organisation O0046)
- WWF International (Organisation O0115)
- Aga Khan Foundation (Organisation O0003)
- Global Environment Facility (GEF) (Organisation O0026)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Organisation O0146)