The Ministry of Climate Change is implementing a project to promote biodiversity conservation and strengthen existing conservation efforts with innovative market-based mechanism. The project called "Mountains and Market Biodiversity and Business in Northern Pakistan" develops community and institutional capacity for certified production of biodiversity-friendly non-timber forest products in Northern Pakistan.
It also stimulates market demand for these products, thereby, creating new economic incentives for conservation.
Sources at the Ministry said Provincial Forest Department, Wildlife Departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are the implementation partners while Global Environment Facility is providing funding.
The sources said the project area spreads across Hindu Kush, Karakorum and Western Himalayan mountain ranges, Northern Pakistan which is rich in global biodiversity. Many globally threatened species are still found there, from the snow leopard and lynx to highly endangered woolly flying squirrel. Although protected areas now cover some 11 of mountains, threats yet remain to the region's unique biodiversity due to poverty and limited options for sustainable sources of livelihood.
The other objective of the project is sustainable production of biodiversity goods and services through community ecosystem-based enterprises and demonstration conservancies in northern mountains.