Climate Change Ministry Prepares First Ever Red Data Book Survey

Umer Jamshaid Published October 29, 2020 | 09:59 PM

The Ministry of Climate Change has maintained country's first National Red Data Book survey of mammals under Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project (phase-I).

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Oct, 2020 ) :The Ministry of Climate Change has maintained country's first National Red Data Book survey of mammals under Ten billion Tree Tsunami project (phase-I).

The initiative has been taken despite major cut in PSDP releases of 80 percent in funds being provided for the project amid COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the first time that such database related to mammals and other native wildlife species is being prepared for informed decision making, Project Director TBTT Joint Secretary MoCC Suleman Khan Warraich told APP.

"Due to Prime Minister Imran Khan's keen interest in biodiversity and ecosystem conservation the ministry has taken an initiative to develop first ever National Red Data Book on Mammals of Pakistan based on population estimates, under the umbrella of Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Phase-I." he said.

Warraich said a 45-member team comprising of MoCC, Zoological Survey of Pakistan, Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department, local universities' interns, media interns and international organizations namely IUCN and WWF was constituted to conduct survey of Punjab Urial (Ovis vignei punjabensis).

This initiative would help in assessing the outcome of previous policies particularly that of trophy hunting aimed at reviving the dwindling number of endangered species.

The Survey, he said started from October 10 and had concluded at October 25 where the teams returned consequently to tabulate the data.

The survey was being carried in the five districts of Punjab including Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock, Mianwali and Khushab.

The TBTT project director noted that transparency and international standardisation was ensured through double observer method to estimate the population of Punjab Urial.

He said under the Red Data Book, survey of Markhor, Ibex and Blue Sheep in Gilgit Baltistan, Ibex and Blanford Urial in Sindh, Suleman Markhor, Afghan Urial and Ibex in Balochistan and Kashmiri Markhor, Grey Goral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be carried out.