desan
President (40k+ posts)
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) project is Pakistan’s first REDD+ initiative and is a partnership between the Provincial Government, Merlins Wood Ltd and the local communities dependant on the forests.
The project area encompasses 300,000 hectares, representing the ruggedly beautiful forest areas in the three project districts of Battagram, Manserha and Swat.The province is home to a high degree of topographic variation, rising from 250 metres in the south and soaring to a height of 7,708 metres at picturesque Trich Mir in the north.As a part of Pakistan’s last remaining tract of Himalayan moist temperate forest, the project area plays a critical role in climate and watershed protection.However, due to population pressures, wrenching poverty, and illegal land-use activities, these forests are disappearing at a rate of more than three per cent per year.The goal of the KP REDD+ Project is to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and degradation through implementation of sustainable land use practices.A suite of livelihood improvements to ease the dependence of local communities on precious forest resources will also be deployed by Merlins Wood and its local partners.The prime focus of the project is poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation.
A consortium of various government and non-government agencies in Pakistan, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest and Wildlife Departments, have partnered with Merlins Wood to initiate the project as a means of implementing a series of actions designed to mitigate the key drivers of deforestation.Key drivers of deforestation include fuelwood gathering, free grazing of livestock, illegal commercial timber harvesting and agriculture and settlement expansion.
The 30-year project will support up to 540 villages in the project area to develop and strengthen the capacity of Village Development Committees (VDCs) as a means of supporting the sustainable management of forest resources.Project activities, implemented in partnership with local communities, include Sustainable Land-use Planning, Forest Patrolling and Protection, Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), Fire Prevention, Introduction of Fuel-Efficient Stoves, Planting of Woodlots, Agricultural Intensification, Livestock Management, Development and Sale of Non Timber Forest Products.Social improvement activities include the provision of clean water, construction of communal washroom facilities, rural electrification, medical access and educational scholarships. During the life time of the project:
The project area encompasses 300,000 hectares, representing the ruggedly beautiful forest areas in the three project districts of Battagram, Manserha and Swat.The province is home to a high degree of topographic variation, rising from 250 metres in the south and soaring to a height of 7,708 metres at picturesque Trich Mir in the north.As a part of Pakistan’s last remaining tract of Himalayan moist temperate forest, the project area plays a critical role in climate and watershed protection.However, due to population pressures, wrenching poverty, and illegal land-use activities, these forests are disappearing at a rate of more than three per cent per year.The goal of the KP REDD+ Project is to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and degradation through implementation of sustainable land use practices.A suite of livelihood improvements to ease the dependence of local communities on precious forest resources will also be deployed by Merlins Wood and its local partners.The prime focus of the project is poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation.
A consortium of various government and non-government agencies in Pakistan, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest and Wildlife Departments, have partnered with Merlins Wood to initiate the project as a means of implementing a series of actions designed to mitigate the key drivers of deforestation.Key drivers of deforestation include fuelwood gathering, free grazing of livestock, illegal commercial timber harvesting and agriculture and settlement expansion.
- 14,000 hectares of degraded forest will be regenerated through (ANR).
- 7,000 hectares of woodlots will be planted to ease the pressure on the forests.
- 5,000 hectares of fruit orchards will be planted as an extra source of income for locals.
- 225 villages will get a clean drinking water supply.
- 375 villages will get communal washrooms.
- 540 villages will benefit from a mobile doctor service.
- 300,000 households will get efficient cooking stoves.
- 420,000 animals will receive vaccinations and treatment.
- 4,500 poultry farms will be set up.
- 540,000 square foot of plastic tunnel technology will be deployed for growing off-season vegetables.
- 20,000 educational scholarships will be awarded.
- 1,000s of job will be created for local communities and tens of thousands more will receive training in new livelihoods.
- 200,000 vulnerable people will receive regular access to healthcare and medication.
Pakistan is not only a signatory to numerous Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), but has also shown its commitment to non-legally binding instruments such as Agenda-21 Rio Principles and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation aiming for sustainable development of natural resources.
This project is in addition to the country’s Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) that stipulates environmental sustainability in various sectors and at various levels.
The government is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s, goal number seven aims at ensuring environmental sustainability).
Pakistan has observer status on UN-REDD and has been building capacity and raising awareness on REDD+ readiness since 2007 through a national REDD-focal point.
The country has recently applied to join the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
Other organistations taking an active role in the REDD debate in Pakistan include them IUCN Pakistan, UNDP, WWF, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Lead Pakistan.
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