PSNP Experience Sharing Event held in Chitral.
CHITRAL: Experience Sharing Event organized by IUCN under Program Support for Northern Pakistan (PSNP) was held in Chitral on Friday. Members of Chitral Round Table, CCS Special Committee, Chitral Fund for Sustainable Development (CFSD) and representatives of NGOs, intelligentsias, media, Ulema and members of the implementing partners of PNSP supported model projects participated in the event. District Coordination Officer Chitral (DCO) and Tehsil Nazim Chitral made it special point to attend the event.
The event started with recitation from the Holy Quran by Moulana Israrud Din Alhilal. Shah Karez Manager IUCN explained the context of the events he said that IUCN Pakistan’s partnership and collaboration with the Government of NWFP dates back to 1992 when the provincial government desired to formulate its provincial sustainable development policy called Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy (SPCS), an implementation plan of the National Conservation Strategy (NCS) with provincial priorities. IUCN Pakistan provided technical support to the formulation and implementation of the SPCS through the SPCS Support Unit Peshawar and later through Program Support for Northern Pakistan (PSNP). PSNP aims at enhancing the sustainability of contributions of natural resources to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty.
He said, Chitral was the pioneer district in developing the Chitral Conservation Strategy (CCS) with district level priorities identified through extensive consultations with all stakeholders in the district. The District Government finally approved the CCS as a working document now known as the Integrated Development Vision (IDV) for Chitral. PSNP with the assistance of Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) provided further support for three model projects in Chitral to translate the vision into action. The objective of today’s event is to share experiences and lessons learned through the process so that future planning and implementation could be improved and built on the successes.
While making opening remarks the ex-tehsil Nazim Mr. Amir Khan Mir expressed his deep appreciation of IUCNs work and its achievement. He termed the IDV as an historic document ever produced in Chitral. He related that Chitral was once self sufficient in many respects such as, “we used to produce cereal crops, livestock, poultry, artificial forests, fresh and dried fruits to suffice for the population, we produced local cotton and woolen garments on our own. Chitral can even boast of having manuscript of the Holy Quran written on locally produced paper which was made of the paste produced by boiling the bark of mulberry trees.” He said we had an exemplary collective management of natural resources including flora and fauna, our pastures were green. We practiced rotational grazing and banned over use of forests and our rangeland was well protected through the use of social sanctions.
He lamented on the current situation by saying that we have now lost the trail. Our natural resources are being depleted, we have become ignorant and selfish; we are now trapped in dependency syndrome. We are passing through crisis of natural resources.
He said, “We appreciate that IUCN came to our rescue by starting a process of revitalization of the social capital through wide ranging consultations with cross sections of the communities and bringing knowledge of the importance of sustainable use of natural resources to the masses, as a result we have this important document in the shape of IDV”. He said we must now use this document for the amelioration of the lot of the poor and at the same time try to use our natural resources wisely so that a better future is secured for the generations to come.
The participants were then divided into two groups to deliberate on the successes and challenges followed by group presentations. Several good practices were highlighted and success stories narrated by presenters and the event concluded with appreciation for the contribution of IUCN and the SDC for invaluable technical and financial support. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to continue what they had collectively achieved so far. They collectively requested IUCN and donors to continue their support to translate the IDV into practice as the stage has been set for take off. The only constraint that Chitral faces is financial and technical support, they said.
.
Chitral receives first winter rainfall
CHITRAL 30, Nov 07: After a long dry spell Chitral received first winter rainfall Thursday night. The rainfall was heralded by the breakdown in power supply warning Chitralis what lies in store for them in the long winters ahead
G.H. Farooqi PO Box No. 50 GPO Chitral Pakistan cell phone # 03025989602