Biodiversity Vital for Economic, Environmental Harmony: Experts

Tahira Khan 

Karachi: The environmental experts were in consensus that biodiversity is crucial for a healthy planet, contributing to economic prosperity and fostering a harmonious relationship with Mother Earth.

They were speaking at a stakeholder consultation workshop focused on aligning the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) with the new Post-2022 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The event was organized by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The workshop took place at the PC Hotel in Karachi on August 1st and 2nd, 2024.

Secretary of Forests, Dostain Khan Jamaldini, emphasized the critical issues of biodiversity loss in Baluchistan. He criticized the government’s planning mechanisms, suggesting they are poorly conceived and prioritize non-developmental matters such as unnecessary appointments and excessive salary packages. 

Jamaldini also pointed out the drawbacks of the federal centralized planning structure, which undermines the role of local stakeholders and the contributions of Indigenous communities.

Following that, he highlighted several core issues affecting biodiversity, including illegal hunting, extreme exploitation of coastal resources, the gradual loss of juniper forests, and land ownership disputes. 

These issues, he noted, hinder effective conservation efforts and policy implementation. Additionally, he pointed out that the previous National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) failed to address sustainable and biodiversity-inclusive urban planning and did not allocate land for green and open spaces.

UNDP Technical Expert Irfan Ullah highlighted that Balochistan, with its diverse ecological landscape, faces significant challenges due to poor planning and unsustainable development practices, which have diminished the province’s prospects. The region’s rich biodiversity underscores the urgent need for environmental protection, particularly for the indigenous communities residing there.

However, short-term needs and political pressures often overshadow the long-term goals of ecological progress, resulting in biodiversity planning that is limited to sectoral benefits without a comprehensive vision.

A sustainable biodiversity strategy must align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). This framework mandates that governments and local/sub-national stakeholders undertake concrete actions for biodiversity conservation and integrate future goals with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 The GBF comprises 23 targets that underscore the importance of both the contributions and rights of indigenous communities, as well as the need for gender-responsive planning and strategies, specifically outlined in Targets 22 and 23.

Gender Inclusivity

GDA Director Abdul Raheem emphasized the need to restore at least 2.2 percent  of the area, in line with GBF Target 2 and National Target 1, and to identify degraded ecosystem resources.

As a gender expert, I highlighted the importance of gender inclusivity by advocating for gender-responsive budgets and increasing women’s representation in key thematic fields of biodiversity, such as Planning & Development, Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry & Wildlife, and WASA. 

National Target 17 calls for the government to provide equal opportunities and capacity-building projects for all women and girls, ensuring their inclusion in decision-making processes and policy consultations related to biodiversity. In this

context, the Secretary of Forest & Wildlife noted that the future value of any nation will be determined by progress toward achieving these 23 targets.

Overlapping Roles Hinder

Director of the Marine Department, Ahmed Nadeem, highlighted that the overlapping roles of sister departments and institutional structures have hindered the implementation of policy objectives. 

For example, the government and policymakers need to clearly differentiate the roles of forestry and wildlife from those of the environment and fisheries departments. Similarly, Tahir Rasheed emphasized the importance of integrating biodiversity issues with human rights concerns, suggesting that this approach would prompt the government to address biodiversity loss more urgently while also respecting the rights of local communities.

Other participants expressed concern about the lack of a land use policy in provinces and the insufficient steps taken to restore degraded land and soil, stressing that the future of agriculture depends on addressing these issues.

In the context of the Pakistan BER report, from 2019 to 2023, the total federal and provincial biodiversity budget amounted to Rs 843 billion, with an annual average of Rs 168.75 billion. During the same period, the non-government sector attracted nearly USD 197.17 million.

According to UNDP data, the Baluchistan BER report is as follows:

Considering the budgetary allocations, it was observed that the percentage of the budget allocated to core biodiversity departments is very low. 

Additionally, it was highlighted that the budget relies heavily on foreign funds, grants, or Official Development Assistance (ODA), with a lack of monitoring structures to track financing from public and private sectors.