People, Forest and Pheasants in Palas Valley, Northern Pakistan

The importance of the remote Palas Valley in Indus Kohistan was discovered in the late 1980s when extensive tracts of pristine forest were discovered. Surveys since then have suggested that these forests contain one of the largest populations of western tragopan in the world, with an estimate of at least 300 pairs. Western tragopan is currently listed as Vulnerable, making Palas Valley extremely important for this species, as well as for other Himalayan pheasants and mammals.

WPA has been working alongside WWF-Pakistan and BirdLife International, the European Commission and others in supporting a wide variety of conservation and development work in the valley. The aim is to conserve the forests and the rich variety that they contain, whilst also tackling the causes of poverty amongst the people of the valley. This work has been crucial at a time when forest use is increasing throughout the western Himalayas.

Current phases of work, co-ordinated by WPA-Pakistan and the North West Frontier Province's Wildlife Department, include demonstrating the value of non-timber forest products as an alternative source of income, and extending the forest management work carried out by the Palas Conservation and Development Project, including the revision of the forest working plan that is under preparation.

After a devastating earthquake in late 2005, WPA and its members raised a staggering £20,000 for the participants of Palas Valley, many of who were injured or killed, or lost their homes, livestock and livelihoods.

Environmental awareness programmes have been carried out to assess the views of local people, particularly children, to wildlife conservation and the collection of non-timber forest products. WPA is also in the process of fund-raising to build a school for Palas, thus taking another step towards sustainable livelihoods for the local people, and further encouraging participation by the whole community in conserving their beautiful valley.