NEW YORK: Pakistan has urged the world to adopt collaborative efforts for the conservation of the Markhor, given its role in the overall ecosystem. Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told an event that focused on strategies for the protection of this iconic animal that for Pakistan, the Markhor holds a very special importance as “it is our national animal,”.
Ambassador Akram said that Markhors offer opportunity to boost the economy, foster conservation efforts as well as promote sustainable tourism. The envoy said that Markhors’ population is reducing worldwide while their numbers have been increasing in Pakistan for the last ten years, reaching between 3,500 and 5,000, because of Pakistan’s proactive conservation programmes, and community engagement.
“In Pakistan’s experience”, Munir Akram stated, “strengthening community governance structures and promoting local ownership over sustainable natural resource use is an important first step to building more capacity for wildlife management activities.”
In this connection, the Ambassador cited Pakistan’s ‘trophy hunting policy’ that initially permitted a quota of six and later around 12 Markhors to be hunted per season.
The envoy stated that local communities are trained in order to monitor and manage Markhor populations and trophy hunts independently. He said that they were willing to share its knowledge as well as experience in Markhor conservation with other countries and looks forward to learning from them.
He stated that the UNGA resolution, which proclaimed May 24 as the International Day of the Markhor, would help promote collaborative efforts for the long-term preservation of this iconic species and its habitat.
