Mountain Area Conservancy Project (MACP)

The goal of the Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP) is to protect biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use in Pakistan’s Karakorum, Hindu Kush, and Western Himalayan mountain ranges through a community-based conservation approach. MACP is based on the premise that conservation activities are unlikely to be sustainable over the long term unless local communities are actively involved.

The $10.35M project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program, and the Government of Pakistan (GoP). IUCN Pakistan is implementing the project in close collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Department of Forests, Parks and Wildlife in Northern Areas (NA). Worldwide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-P), the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), and the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF) are the key civil society organizations collaborating in implementation.

The aim is to create an enabling environment for community based conservation, institutionalized through review and revision of policies, laws, and institutions. AKRSP is supporting the formation of valley level community structures like VCCs, and promoting eco-development through its investments and collaboration in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources by the communities. WWF-P is raising awareness of the project objectives, processes, and achievements; mustering the support and participation of the stakeholders in MACP activities; and catalysing mobilization of communities. The HWF is interfacing with communities involved in MACP and Deosai National Park activities.

The Project Regional Offices are located at Chitral and Gilgit. There are 6 Field Units at Hunza, Astore, and Skardu in the Northern Areas and Booni, Chitral, and Mingora in NWFP. The project is staffed by 37 professionals, besides support staff.

The focus of MACP is on scaling up sustainable management of natural resources, especially biodiversity, from village level to valley level, and ultimately to wider landscape level of conservancy. MACP activities are being undertaken in four geographical distinct conservancies spread over 16,300 km2. Two of these i.e. Nanga Parbat and Gojal are in NA and another two i.e. Tirichmir and Qashqar are located in NWFP.

Project Objectives

1. Develop and strengthen capacity to conserve biodiversity at the community level.
2. Impart conservation values and provide avenues for information sharing on management of wild resources.
3. Monitor the effects of project activities on biodiversity and on socio-economic indicators.
4. Assist communities in attracting outside support for long-term eco-development.
5. Develop a knowledge base about components of biodiversity, particularly those suitable for sustainable use.
6. Assist government in revising policy and legislation to better support participatory conservation.
7. Establish and operationalize endowment funds to sustain conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at valley and conservancy level.

Project Components

The program has three principle thrusts:
• to organize, empower, and boost the capacity of local communities to conserve biodiversity at an ecological level;
• to enhance the relative values of wild resources (as a conservation incentive) by promoting their sustainable use; and
• to create a policy, legislation, and financial framework conducive to community-based conservation. Locally appropriate conservation committees will be organized at the valley and district levels.

Tasks

• developing and implementing conservation and sustainable use awareness program,
• organizing communities into representative committees at village/valley and conservancy levels,
• enhancing the capacities of communities in conserving and sustainably using biodiversity
• enhancing the capacity of government departments to support community-based biodiversity conservation and sustainable use,
• involving women in conservation,
• developing and implementing village/valley, and conservancy level conservation plans,
• enhancing scientific knowledge of biodiversity in conservancies,
• introducing sustainable use demonstration projects for generating and disseminating knowledge for replication,
• revising current policies and laws,
• establishing and operationalizing conservation fund at valley level and trust fund for the four conservancies.

For more information, please visit the Project Website