Reviving biodiversity | Political Economy

#Reviving #biodiversity #Political #Economy

Eveng recently observed the International Day of Biological Diversity this year, Pakistan is often neglected but facing immediate truth: Geovida is in danger in Pakistan. From the snow pulls in the north to the forests of the mangroves built on our southern beaches, the archetyr of nature is silenced. There are many reasons: climate change, reduction in residence, excessive expression and pollution. There is a fundamental problem below these outward threats: We see the protection of biological diversity rather than our national development and the integral part of the community’s fitness as an external concern.

This year’s theme, a part of the project, may not be more appropriate, especially for Pakistan, where there are missing links between participation and local property protection. The need is no longer merely to protect the forests and species in isolation, but also to embed the geometry in the basic part of our policy -making, economy and educational system.

While living in Islamabad, we are often surprised at the Margala hills that raise the city. Nevertheless, these safe areas are also threatened by non -planned urban proliferation, illegal logging and poor implementation of environmental regulations. Contradiction is tight: How can we talk about climate and sustainable development while our capital city fails to protect its environmental lungs?

What Pakistan needs immediately is a paradigm shift. We need to re -imagine not as a burden, but as an opportunity to develop societies, enhance flexibility and promote a new economy in stability. The answer is to increase community -based conservation (CBC) models that keep locals at the center of environmental responsibility. Such measures have already proved their value. For example, take the Makran Coastal Conservation Project. Empowering local fishermen to accept sustainable methods, not only were maritime resources, but also improved livelihoods. Similarly, in the snowy mountains of northern Pakistan, the flock who once saw a threat to the risk of snow as a threat is now the guards who thank the modern schemes that pay compensation for livestock losses and promote alternative income sources such as environmental tourism and crafts.

These examples are not just stories of success but also indicators for the future. Imagine its effects if society -driven efforts are copied in rural Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab. Imagine a Pakistan where protecting biological diversity is equivalent to promoting local economies, protecting cultural heritage and strengthening social harmony.

What stands on the way? The fact is that the CBC still faces significant obstacles in Pakistan: lack of awareness, inadequate financing, weak institutional harmony and political ideology. These are not irreversible obstacles. The real challenge is imaginative. We mainly need to revise which protection is for, and who should guide it.

Biological diversity is not just about lions and turtles. It is also about the systems that maintain life: clean water, fertile soil and breathing. In losing biological diversity, we are in danger of losing ourselves.

For a long time, the protection of biological diversity in Pakistan has been a domain of elite -led organizations and government departments, which are often disconnected from people affected by environmental collapse. We must break this top download model and invest in the below change. This means that local youth should be trained as ambassadors of biological diversity, connect traditional knowledge with modern science, and offer micro -grant for village -led environmental projects. This also means that digital tools, such as Wildlife Reporting, use AI -powered platforms to track down mobile phone apps or forest harvesting, to protect data, to democratic data and to share protection.

In Islamabad, where policy dialogues are often, but implementation is often left behind, we have to guide for example. Biological diversity should be a central pillar in the city’s urban planning strategy. Green roofs, rain gardens and polyter corridors are not utopian ideas. They are practical, cost -effective solutions that many global cities have accepted. Why can’t the biological diversity of Islamabad be the capital of South Asia? Why not convert every park, school and mosque lawn into micro -hebetate that supports local plants and animals? Such measures not only improve urban flexibility with climate shock, but also connect people with nature, which is very lost in our growing screen -based lives.

Education is the key to this change. We must go beyond awareness campaigns and embed the geometry in the school curriculum, not as a chapter of the textbook, but as a living experience. Field trips in wet areas, audit of biological diversity in school yards, story -led sessions led by local elders are the most active activities that create environmental sympathy at an early age. Let us teach our children not only the name of the river Indus dolphin or Markhur, but also to understand why their survival is important.

The policy, of course, remains an important lever. Pakistan must harmonize its biological diversity goals with its climate and development agendas. This means updating old environmental laws, allocating budget for climate change, and encouraging private sector participation in biological diversity -friendly projects. Whether it is green bonds for organic farmers to restore the forest or restore tax exemption, the government has many tools in it so that someone will call “nature-positive economy”.

All of this will work only if civil society, academia and local governments are brought into fold. Often, biological diversity is seen as the only responsibility of the environmental protection departments. This must reduce every sector: agriculture, water, health, tourism and education.

We urge fellow Pakistanis, especially policy makers, youth and the media to think outside the box. Let’s re -imagine our relationship with nature, not as a re -concept of our relationship, but as a caretaker. Let us be influenced by our past by the wisdom of the communities that have been in nature for generations. And let’s look at the future with a bold, comprehensive vision that looks at biological diversity, not as a luxury, but as a lifeline.

The stake cannot be high. Biological diversity is not just about lions and turtles. It is also about the systems that maintain life: clean water, fertile soil and breathing. In losing biological diversity, we are in danger of losing ourselves. If we think it is right. If we keep people at the center of protection. If we dare to innovate. And if we connect our policies with the needs of the planet, Pakistan can emerge as a leader of environmental renewal, not environmental decline.

We have tools. We have knowledge. What we need now is to be part of the project.

The author is a policy analyst and researcher who holds a master’s degree in public policy from Kings College, London.