PESHAWAR: Residents of Daral and Bahrain valleys in Swat, Chitral and Kalash valleys have launched an appeal to save their valleys from ongoing destruction of their biodiversity, ecosystem and forests in the name of development and official logging.
Peshawar-based Citizens for Clean Environment (CCE) and social organisation ‘Caravan’ mobilised the residents to voice their concern at the deforestation in their areas, calling upon the international organisations
like WWF, IUCN, UN climate change offices in Pakistan, SDPI and other environmentalists to come to their rescue as their communities were ‘faced with extinction’. Peshawar-based Citizens for Clean Environment (CCE) and social organisation ‘Caravan’ mobilised the residents to voice their concern at the deforestation in their areas, calling upon the international organisations
“These residents have come all the way to Peshawar to let the rest of Pakistan know what lies ahead if the environmental degrading continues in those areas,” CCE chief Dr Adil Zareef said.
“The ongoing deforestation might soon render the valleys into barren lands and those dependent on forests for livelihood might be forced into becoming environmental refugees and might become a huge burden on the national and global economy,” the residents said.
The residents said that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Federal Ministry of Environment should take up this issue at the national level. staff report - Courtesy Daily Times