ISLAMABAD: The second Pakistan Mountain Festival concluded on Wednesday with extending warm appreciation to the participants and partners at a colourful ceremony held at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
The three-day festival was organized by the Development Communications Network (DEVCOM-Pakistan) in collaboration with the EvK2CNR, the SEED project of the Italian government, ICIMOD and the PNCA to mark the International Mountain Day.
Speaking on the occasion, the Country Operations Manager, EvK2CNR, Raffaele Del Cima said youth was the only hope for combating environmental issues and paving path for sustainable development.
He said, "Our rationalised consumption of natural resources at the highlands could slow down the pace of climate change effect, and the local youth can play its role in mobilising the communities to own their natural resources.
This would lead to curb the depletion of resources."
Director DEVCOM-Pakistan, Munir Ahmed asked the educational institutions to take measures to engage their students in environmental conservation activities.
He said, "Small steps can lead to a big change. Only devotion and sincerely consistent efforts would culminate the required change. For consistency of struggle, we need to keep the youth in the loop."
The mountain music night Tuesday late attracted the mountain music lovers especially the youth.
The singers from Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and AJK performed songs in the native languages including sheena, broshusky, wakhi, balti, pahari,and khawar.
The main singers were Daulat Wali Baig, Rahbar Khan, Khan Abdul Rehman, Manzoor Ali, Tahir Zaman, Benazir, and some others.
Speaking the youth seminar on "Mountain and forest are our life", Dr Nafisa Shah, Chairperson National Commission on Human Development said "we have started facing the adverse effects of the climate change need to equip the communities with right information and knowledge to cope the challenges".
Environment and the climate change is the biggest issue these days and we need to understand it and act upon accordingly.
The fast depleting natural resources at the highlands have affected the livelihood of the poor communities downstream and the gross national product.
The students from different universities also spoke on the occasion included Madiha Shafiq from the KPK agricultural university, Hamd from the NARC university, Hammad , Nadia from NUST, and shaheen Akhtar from the Krakorum International University Gilgit.
The seminar was followed by outdoor youth activities at Trail 3 on the Margalla Hills.
Munir Ahmed, Director DEVCOM-Pakistan, opened the afternoon activities by speaking of the purpose behind such awareness raising activities and the hope that the individuals present would be inspired to engage in the preservation of our environment and natural resources.
The event was attended by Mr Nazir Sabir, a Pakistani mountaineer of inter-national renown, who hails from Gojal, in the northern part of Hunza.
He is the only Pakistani to have climbed Mount Everest and the highest peaks in Pakistan, including K2.
He also served as the political representative for Hunza in the Northern Area Legislative Council and as an Adviser on Education and Tourism for Northern Areas.
Sabir spoke at length about the honour that Pakistan has in being the custodians of some of the most magnificent mountains in the world.
He mentioned also that Islamabad as the capital is particularly beautiful with the Margalla Hills with its richness in bird species and other wildlife bordering it.
Ambassador Cecilie Landsverk of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, inaugurated the outdoor activities and shared her pleasure at being invited to participate in the event.
She said that Pakistan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it is imperative to preserve the natural beauty. She also said that climate change is a matter of grave concern and the forests and mountains of the world allow us to maintain our quality of life.
She mentioned that in Norway they lived very close to nature and she particularly enjoyed participating in outdoor activities in Islamabad.
The souvenirs and certificates were distributed among the participants and the youth that took part in various events of the festival.
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