Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Saturday inaugurated the first-ever Common Asian Leopard preserve zone in the federal capital’s scenic Margalla Hills National Park Trail-6 that falls in Kalinjar area.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony at Trail-6 visitors information center, the SAPM said the conservation site would help protect critically endangered wild cat species and promote wildlife tourism in the world’s one of the unique ecosystems lying close to a human settlement.
Amin Aslam congratulated the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) for their concerted efforts to preserve the Common Leopard and successfully created a conservation reserve.
“Chairperson IWMB Rina Saeed Khan, Z.B. Mirza and IWMB worked a lot for making it a real,” he said while appreciating the IWMB efforts.
He added that it was imperative to create a balance with nature and adapt to nature as the prevailing COVID-19 era was reaction to human intrusion into nature.
It’s a reaction to human conflict with nature that transferred the zoonotic diseases to mankind, he underlined. “We did not make it (Leopard Preserve) rather the nature helped it due to the nature protection efforts and favourable environmental conditions,” he said.
Amin mentioned that leopard was critically endangered as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listing of various wildlife species.
SAPM said leopard was the Prime Minister of this national park and it’s absence would disturb the entire ecosystem.
“There are 300 birds, 350 plant and 20 snakes species are found in the Margalla Hills National Park that make it a biodiversity rich ecosystem,” he said.
He added that it was a nature’s gift for the nation and as per the Prime Minister’s vision, the government would protect it and make it a model national park.
The SAPM said there would be guided tours on Trail-6 from now onwards as it would no more be an open trail due to the presence of Leopard
