Chitral: The launching ceremony of the “Empowering of Indigenous Communities Conserved Areas for Wildlife Conservation Project” took place on Thursday 24 July at the Pamir Inn, Chitral. Member of Provincial Assembly Mr. Saleem Khan was the chief gust while Mr. Amin ul Haq Deputy Commissioner Chitral presided the session. Words of welcome were delivered by Ajaz Ahmed project coordinator while Tahir Rasheed, gave a brief introduction of the project as well as biodiversity of Chitral. He explained the objectives, expected outcomes of the project and also explained the context in which this project was conceived. He shared that overall aim of this project is to map, capacitate, network and identify enabling conditions, best practices and lessons linked to successful community-based wildlife management in Chitral. He further added that the proposed project will also support public policy engagement for evidence based discussion on ways in which the policy framework and implementation mechanisms for wildlife management in Chitral, KPK can be improved and made more sensitive towards ICCAs. He also drew the attention of the participants towards the timeline activities of the project and especially the contribution of LEAD Pakistan in Natural Resource Conservation. He explained the role of the stakeholders such as Pakistan GLOF Project, WWF-Pakistan and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Chitral Campus in the implementation of this project and also stemmed the role of KPK Wildlife department as a project partner. Saleem Khan MPA and Chairman District Development & Advisory Committee (DDAC) appreciated the efforts of LEAD Pakistan in initiating this project in Chitral. He said the district is rich with resources which need to be mapped, documented and explored. Deputy Commissioner said that Almighty Allah has kept a balance in the ecological system and any kind of interruptions in nature causes disturbance. At the end he esteemed the role of LEAD Pakistan and assured his full support. Finally, Ajaz Ahmed, Project Coordinator SGAFP delivered the Workshop closing remarks by thanking the chief guest, Deputy Commissioner and all participants who contributed their precious time for making this event successful.