Key points:
- Pakistan emphasizes collaborative conservation for the Markhor, its national animal.
- Markhors offer economic opportunities and sustainable tourism.
- Local community involvement and governance are crucial for wildlife management.
- UN General Assembly designates May 24 as International Day of the Markhor.
On the platform of the UN, Pakistan has appealed for collective efforts to conserve the Markhor as a crucial part in the general ecosystem.
Ambassador Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, said that Markhor was an iconic “screw-horned goat” and Pakistan’s national animal that requires special protection strategies to be adopted for this species at a side event.
According to Ambassador Akram, Markhors present a unique opportunity for economic uplift, enhancing conservation, and sustainable tourism and economic growth.
Across the world, the Markhor populations are declining, with less than 6,000 remaining mature individuals, while in Pakistan, it is on the rise over the past decade from 3,500 to 5,000 individuals. This upward trend can be attributed to proactive programs on conservation and community engagement.
The Pakistan experience, Ambassador Akram observed, underlined the strengthening of community governance structures as a way of fostering local ownership of sustainable use of natural resources, which was important in building capacity for wildlife management activities.
Besides, Ambassador Akram drew attention to Pakistan’s “trophy hunting policy,” according to which a quota of 6 (and, later, 12) Markhors could be hunted per season—a program recognized under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Indeed, local communities actively take part in monitoring and management of Markhor populations and trophy hunts. Eighty percent of the fee for trophy permits goes toward benefiting conservation efforts, livelihood improvements, and community development projects.
Moreover, the resolution by the UN General Assembly for May 24 to be declared an International Day of the Markhor is intended to stimulate cooperation for the long-term conservation of this emblematic species and its habitat.