As many as 165 village conservation committees (VCCs) have been established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) under the wildlife component of the Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme (UGPP), as the country expands community participation in wildlife and habitat conservation.
165 village conservation committees set up under Green Pakistan Programme
ISLAMABAD, Sep 01 (APP):As many as 165 village conservation committees (VCCs) have been established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) under the wildlife component of the Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme (UGPP), as the country expands community participation in wildlife and habitat conservation.
According to official data available with Wealth Pakistan, detailing progress on major wildlife activities under the UGPP from FY2019 to the third quarter of FY2025-26, AJK accounts for 115 of the committees, while another 50 have been established in KP.
The table records no VCCs under this particular activity for Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan or Gilgit-Baltistan. AJK therefore accounts for nearly 70% of the 165 committees established, with KP accounting for the remainder.
The VCCs form part of a wider range of wildlife interventions undertaken under the programme, which include the expansion and management of protected areas, wildlife monitoring, community-based conservation, eco-tourism infrastructure and measures to curb illegal wildlife trade.
The progress data show that 131 new protected areas have been established under the Protected Areas Initiative. Punjab accounts for 65, KP 29, Balochistan and AJK two each, and Gilgit-Baltistan 16.
Another 70 management plans for protected areas have been developed, including 32 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 20 in AJK, 14 in KP, three in Punjab and one in Balochistan.
The programme has also established 52 wildlife check posts to control illegal wildlife trade, while 148 wildlife surveys have been conducted. The data further record 247 community-based projects, including 197 in Balochistan and 50 in KP.
Water availability for wildlife has also been addressed, with 1,145 water points reported under the programme. Of these, 980 are in Balochistan, 120 in KP and 45 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Other interventions reported in the progress document include 31 eco-tourism infrastructure initiatives in existing and new protected areas, 24 breeding centres, 47 solid-waste management interventions in protected areas and six dossiers developed for declaration as Man and the Biosphere reserves under UNESCO.
The programme has also generated 4,939 green jobs under its wildlife component, according to the progress table.
The UGPP was initiated in 2019 as a nationwide programme covering forestry and wildlife resources.
