Pakistan expands protected areas to 20% of territory, submits biodiversity report to UN

By Abdul Samad Tariq

ISLAMABAD, Mar 15 (APP):Pakistan has expanded protected and conserved areas to nearly 20 per cent of its territory and strengthened forest conservation measures, according to the country’s Seventh National Report submitted to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The report highlights Pakistan’s progress in biodiversity protection, ecosystem conservation and implementation of international environmental commitments under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Speaking about the development, Mohammad Saleem Shaikh, media spokesperson for the Ministry of Climate Change told APP that the national report provides a comprehensive overview of Pakistan’s efforts to align its biodiversity policies with global conservation targets aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.

He said the report would contribute to the global stocktaking of biodiversity conservation efforts, which is scheduled to take place during the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the biodiversity convention from Oct 19 to 30 in Yerevan, Armenia.

According to the ministry official, nearly 125 countries — about two-thirds of the 196 parties to the convention — have already submitted their seventh national reports ahead of the global assessment process.

Under Article 26 of the biodiversity convention, member states are required to submit periodic reports every four to five years outlining measures taken to implement national biodiversity strategies and conservation policies.

Shaikh said the latest reporting cycle introduces a more structured monitoring framework aligned with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, linking national reporting with internationally agreed indicators to strengthen transparency and accountability in biodiversity governance.

Sharing key achievements highlighted in the report, he said protected and conserved areas now cover around one-fifth of Pakistan’s territory, encompassing both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

“Pakistan has made measurable progress in prioritising ecologically important landscapes for conservation,” Shaikh said, adding that the expansion of protected areas reflects increasing national commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and strengthening ecosystem resilience.

He noted that forest governance has also been reinforced through the legal demarcation of more than 300,000 acres of forest land across the country, including over 136,000 acres in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and around 205,000 acres of state forest in Sindh.

“These demarcation measures are crucial for preventing encroachment and unplanned land conversion in ecologically sensitive areas,” he said.

The report also points to modest improvements in Pakistan’s forest cover, which currently stands at around 5.4pc of the national land area, alongside localized reductions in deforestation in regions where spatial planning and forest monitoring interventions have been implemented.

Shaikh said Pakistan has also advanced biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning through land-use strategies, zoning regulations and district-level planning frameworks.

Wildlife corridors have been mapped in nearly 60pc of districts in Balochistan, while participatory land-use mapping initiatives have been carried out in Gilgit-Baltistan to promote conservation-friendly development planning.

He added that environmental flow requirements were increasingly being applied to protect wetlands and river ecosystems, particularly in the Indus basin and coastal areas such as the Indus Delta.

According to the ministry official, Pakistan has also strengthened spatial governance through policy reforms, including the Punjab Spatial Strategy (2021) and the Punjab Spatial Planning Authority Act (2025), which institutionalises spatial regulation and environmental screening in development planning.

At the federal level, environmental screening has been integrated into the PC-1 project appraisal process through digital tools such as the Intelligent Project Automation System, while GIS-based environmental monitoring is being carried out through the Pak-EPA Geomatic Centre and provincial planning authorities.

Shaikh said the preparation of the national report involved extensive consultations with federal and provincial governments, research institutions, academia, civil society organisations and development partners.

“The process significantly strengthened institutional coordination and improved harmonisation of biodiversity data across federal and provincial institutions,” he added.

However, he noted that the report also highlights several structural challenges in biodiversity governance.

“Implementation of biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning remains uneven across provinces and sectors due to governance fragmentation, land-tenure disputes and encroachment pressures,” Shaikh said.

He added that stronger enforcement mechanisms, improved institutional coordination and wider application of strategic environmental assessments would be necessary to fully align national policies with the global goal of halting biodiversity loss by 2030.

Shaikh said Pakistan’s submission of the report reflects the country’s continued engagement with global biodiversity conservation efforts and contributes to international monitoring of progress in protecting ecosystems and species worldwide.