The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP) has spent the last 6 years implementing a community-based approach to landscape conservation in four geographically distinct Conservancy Areas in the northern Pakistan mountain chains of the Hindu Kush, Karakorum and Western Himalayas . This unique meeting of these three great mountain ranges makes the region world renowned; in an area of around just 175,000 km 2, one of the densest collections of high altitude peaks are to be found, with over 700 being higher than 6,000m. Included in this impressive list are five of the 14 peaks above 8,000m, including the second highest, K2 , at 8,611m.

The area supports a large variety of fragile ecosystems, with steep gradients bringing immense climatic variation, which has shaped the unique composition of the vegetation and associated animal species that we see today. Animals, such as snow leopards, markhor, ibex, Marco Polo sheep, black bears, musk deer, Ladakh urial, woolly flying squirrel, chukar and snow partridge, as well as a wide variety of valuable medicinal and aromatic plants, are found across the region.

Aside from the animal and plant life, the enchanting valleys of Gilgit, Skardu, Chitral, Swat, Kashmir, and a host of others, are also home to a significant and ethnically and culturally diverse human population, which depends heavily on the available natural resources as a source of maintaining their livelihoods. Major ethnic groups include the Shin, Yashkun, Balti and Pathan; minorities include the Kalash, Dom and Gujar. Three major sects of Islam – Shia, Sunni and Ismaili – are represented in the region.

In contrast to the impressive array of landscapes, peoples, animals and plants mentioned above, the region has seen massive environmental degradation, ranging from pollution to deforestation, poor pasture management to over-harvesting of medicinal plants, and wide-spread poaching. Most of these issues can be attributed to poor knowledge and lack of access to information, lack of empowerment, and the ravages of extreme poverty. It has been due to these factors of remoteness, poverty, environmental degradation, and religious devoutness, that MACP focused its attention for community awareness on the religious leaders.

Islam is more than a religion, it is the code of life for the world's Muslims. Within its sacred teachings, as enshrined in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah (sayings of the Prophet Mohammad – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – and examples from his life), are rules for an integrated code from personal hygiene to Man’s relationships with the natural world. It provides a holistic approach to existence, not differentiating between the sacred and secular, nor separating the world of people from that of nature.

Early attempts to develop an ethical system based on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – resulted in the development of the Islamic legal system known as Shari'ah; deeply embedded within the matrix of this system are rules guiding environmental practices. These range from such issues as conservation and allocation of scarce freshwater resources, land conservation (with zones for various uses), and the establishment of pastures, wetlands, green corridors, and the conservation of wildlife.

Religious leaders in Islam are highly respected personalities, and they are approached by communities on matters dealing with all aspects of daily life, as laid out in the teachings of Islam, giving them leadership and voice in the activities that are undertaken both by individuals and groups. As a result of both their stature in the community and the Islamic teachings, religious leaders can play a vital role in explaining the linkages between all aspects of the natural world, and that when the links or relationships are severed—certain species decrease or disappear because of poaching or environmental systems are degraded through pollution—it affects all life on earth.

To reach out to these opinion leaders, face to face meetings with the local religious heads were held through a series of initial workshops on the messages of conservation in Islam in the Gojal, Nanga Parbat , Tirichmir and Qashqar Conservancies. This contact has been repeated extensively across the Conservancy areas, and to date, discussions have been held with about 5,000 people informed on the Islamic ideology of sustainable use of natural resources and local conservation issues.

These discussions were reinforced by presenting people with a collection of Islamic teachings. Conservation and Islam, published together with WWF Pakistan in both Urdu and English in 2003, endeavored, and with great success, to assist Islamic scholars in briefing communities on the importance and necessity of the sensible use of natural resources, as set out by Islamic teachings.

In addition to the work being done through MACP, IUCN Pakistan is undertaking similar successful initiatives with religious leaders in the province of Balochistan .

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