Staff Correspondent
CHITRAL: An awareness walk and a ceremony highlighted the need to protect snow leopards, conserve forests and strengthen environmental legislation.
The event was organised by Hindu Kush Environmental Protection Alliance (HEPA) in connection with World Snow Leopard Day 2026 in Jughoor, Chitral, and joined by students of Beacon of North School with support from the district administration, Chitral Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), Chitral Gol National Park and the Snow Leopard Foundation.
The programme began with an awareness walk involving students, community elders, local residents and environmental organisation representatives. The walk started at the school, turned back near the main gate of the Cantonment Hospital and concluded at the school premises.
Participants carried banners and placards highlighting snow leopard conservation and climate change. A large banner calling for stronger environmental legislation also attracted attention from residents and passersby.
A formal ceremony was subsequently held at the school, in which HEPA President Sarwar Kamal chaired the proceedings.
Kamal said Pakistan was among the countries fortunate to host the rare snow leopard, but the species faced serious threats to its survival. He described protecting this natural heritage for future generations as a shared responsibility.
He identified climate change, human-wildlife conflict, deforestation, illegal mining in mountainous areas and poaching for valuable skins as major threats to snow leopards. He stressed that the species played a vital role in maintaining the balance of mountain ecosystems.
Highlighting the link between forests and wildlife in Chitral, Kamal said local communities’ reliance on forests for fuel was putting chestnut and deodar trees at risk, damaging natural habitats.
Chestnut trees, he explained, were an important food source for the markhor, which in turn forms a significant part of the snow leopard’s natural diet.
He urged the government to provide electricity generated at Golen Gol to Chitral residents at subsidised rates to reduce dependence on forests for fuel. According to Kamal, such a measure could help conserve forests and protect habitats for markhor, snow leopards and other wildlife.
Kamal also called for effective environmental legislation, citing the recent devastating floods in Jughoor Gol. He said the floods had severely damaged irrigation systems, drinking water supplies, protective walls, homes, orchards, livelihoods and other infrastructure.
Following the flooding, the district administration issued an order restricting excessive commercial grazing and introducing measures to regulate it. Kamal said the order was important for protecting the area, but its implementation had been affected by delays during proceedings in a subordinate court.
He warned that the situation continued to expose local communities, their property and infrastructure to risks. Given Chitral’s mountainous terrain and fragile environmental conditions, he said, effective legislation was necessary to reduce disaster risks and ensure the implementation of administrative measures.
Citing the Netherlands as an example, Kamal referred to government and judicial efforts to address environmental problems, particularly nitrogen and ammonia emissions. He said measures such as regulating livestock numbers and adopting modern technology demonstrated the need to manage economic activities according to sustainable environmental principles.
The HEPA president also welcomed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s auction of markhor trophy-hunting permits, saying the auction proceeds were estimated at around Rs250 million. He said the funds could support efforts to prevent illegal hunting, conserve wildlife and strengthen the economic independence of local communities if used effectively and transparently.
However, Kamal expressed concerns about the transparency and accountability of the existing Village Conservation Committees (VCCs) in Chitral. He called for reforms to ensure that funds allocated for wildlife conservation were used effectively and could be independently accounted for.
He said HEPA had already prepared an 11-point proposal for reforming the VCC system and submitted it to the deputy commissioner of Chitral and the Divisional Forest Officer of the Wildlife Department.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, prizes were distributed among students who delivered speeches on snow leopards and illegal hunting.
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