Recent floods, rains pose ‘serious’ threat to wildlife in Pakistan
Recent floods and torrential rains combined with drought and wildfires across Pakistan have posed a “serious” threat to already under-pressure wildlife in the South Asian country.
On the occasion of World Wildlife Conservation Day observed on Sunday, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in a report said the recent climatic events such as floods and widespread rains coupled with drought and wildfires have damaged the wildlife habitats and posed a serious threat to the wild species in Pakistan.
In addition to climate change, the report added, a string of other factors, including illegal wildlife trade and hunting, human-wildlife conflict, unsustainable development, habitat loss and encroachment, and water pollution are also contributing to a gradual decline in wildlife.
Rab Nawaz, senior director of biodiversity at WWF-Pakistan, in his remarks, regretted that despite several initiatives to save biodiversity, the country has lost several species in the recent past and is “about to lose others.”
Pakistan is home to rare, unique, and iconic wildlife species such as the snow leopard, markhor, brown bear, Indus River dolphin, freshwater turtles, and many others.
In spite of the challenges, according to the WWF, there are a few conservation success stories in Pakistan’s context, where community-led and coordinated conservation efforts have helped enhance the population of several endangered wildlife species and their habitats.
