How One Volunteer Is Transforming Margalla Hills
Abdul Samad Tariq
Islamabad: On any given weekend, thousands of people climb the winding trails of Margalla Hills National Park seeking fresh air, exercise and panoramic views of Islamabad.
Hidden among them is a man carrying neither a camera nor trekking gear, but a large blue sack filled with something few visitors come to notice, other people’s litter.
For nearly five years, environmental volunteer Mansoor Sherwani has transformed what began as a personal clean-up effort into a public campaign aimed at changing how Pakistanis think about nature.
Known widely as the “Awareness Man,” Sherwani believes the greatest challenge facing Pakistan’s protected areas is not simply plastic waste but public attitudes toward conservation.
“Cleaning is only part of the job,” he says. “The real goal is to make people understand that this park belongs to all of us.”
His mission reflects a broader shift taking place in Pakistan’s environmental movement, where citizen volunteers are increasingly complementing government efforts to protect fragile ecosystems threatened by urban expansion, rising visitor numbers and climate change.
A National Park Under Growing Pressure
Spread across nearly 17,000 hectares on Islamabad’s northern edge, Margalla Hills National Park is one of the world’s few protected forests located beside a national capital.
The park provides far more than scenic hiking routes. Its forests recharge groundwater, regulate local temperatures, improve air quality and provide habitat for wildlife including barking deer, wild boar, porcupines, more than 200 bird species, and the elusive Common Asian Leopard.
Its popularity, however, has created new conservation challenges.
According to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), nearly 900,000 people use the park’s designated hiking trails each year. The influx leaves behind plastic waste while increasing human disturbance through off-trail hiking, wildlife feeding and noise pollution.
Although the park has seven designated trails, Trail 6 remains closed as a Leopard Preservation Zone, with access limited to guided visits under strict conditions.
Beyond Picking Up Plastic
Sherwani’s weekly routine goes far beyond collecting discarded bottles and food wrappers.
Every weekend he spends hours walking the trails, often climbing down steep slopes to retrieve rubbish trapped in ravines. Over the years, he estimates he has removed more than three tonnes of waste from the park.
But he considers conversation to be his most effective conservation tool.
Instead of confronting visitors for violating park rules, he explains why protected areas require different behaviour than ordinary public parks.
He encourages hikers to remain on designated trails, avoid feeding wildlife, take their rubbish home and respect the forest’s natural silence.
On busy weekends, he estimates he interacts with between 5,000 and 6,000 visitors, including families, students and hiking groups.
“What gives me the greatest satisfaction,” he says, “is when people return and tell me they now carry their own litter bags or pick up waste left by others.”
Building Culture of Responsibility
Officials say volunteer efforts have become an increasingly important part of conservation management.
According to IWMB, joint clean-up campaigns conducted by staff and volunteers remove around 25 kilograms of litter every week, amounting to roughly 1.2 tonnes annually from designated hiking trails.
Environmental conservationist Sakhawat Ali says volunteers like Sherwani play an important role in bridging the gap between conservation authorities and the public.
“Mansoor provides awareness services free of cost and has helped visitors better understand the importance of protecting the national park,” he says.
He adds that Sherwani works alongside a wider network of volunteers, including the Friends of Margalla Hills National Park, while the IWMB itself conducts around 55 to 60 environmental awareness programmes annually, mainly for schools.
Conservation Requires More Than Volunteers
Despite praising community participation, both Sherwani and conservation experts stress that volunteers cannot replace institutional capacity.
Currently, only 26 rangers, supported by contingent staff, are responsible for protecting the park across four operational ranges.
Their duties include wildlife protection, visitor management, habitat monitoring and enforcement of park regulations.
Ali says authorities are planning to strengthen the park’s conservation infrastructure through a proposed development project aimed at upgrading Margalla Hills National Park to international standards.
He argues that lasting conservation will require stronger enforcement, greater public investment and continuous environmental education.
“The future of the national park cannot depend on volunteers alone,” he says. “It requires institutions that are properly staffed and adequately resourced.”
A Lesson Beyond Hills
As another weekend draws to a close, Sherwani shoulders a sack full of discarded plastic and begins the long walk downhill.
He knows that by next weekend, more litter may have replaced what he collected.
Yet he remains hopeful that every conversation with a visitor plants a seed of responsibility.
For him, the true measure of success is not the number of bags of rubbish removed from the forest, but the day when visitors leave no rubbish behind at all.
In a country where protected areas face mounting pressure from urbanisation and climate change, Sherwani’s story illustrates that conservation begins long before government policies take effect, it starts with individual choices.
His weekly walks through Margalla Hills have become more than clean-up drives; they are quiet reminders that safeguarding Pakistan’s natural heritage is a responsibility shared by every citizen.
