With the intention to boost eco-tourism in the country, the Ministry for Climate Change has developed a plan to build the world’s first high-altitude nature corridor.
The plan envisages that the corridor will be 10,000 feet above sea level and will spread from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) covering an area of 4,000 square kilometers.
Himalaya National Park and Nanga Parbat National Park, the two already protected areas, will be comprised in the corridor. Tourists will also be able to learn more about Himalayan brown bears, Ladakh Urial, snow leopards, ibex, markhor, and blue sheep found in the intended corridor.
Moreover, the corridor will give an extensive range of opportunities for adventure tourism as a number of bird and animal species travel to areas that come under the proposed corridor.
Read more: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa notifies 11 new protected areas for wildlife conservation
“It also provides adventure tourism because there are migration and displacement places for the wildlife and birds species where they can develop their habitats with changing weather patterns and ecological conditions,” an official said.
Illuminating about the idea, a senior official at the Climate Change Ministry informed that native communities will be taken on board prior to developing the High Altitude Nature Corridor.
He further said, “The local communities are being made aware of protecting the sites from environmental degradation because eco-tourism is linked to their livelihoods. In this way, we will not only preserve our tourist sites but will also generate employment for the local people.”
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan has appeared as one of the most sought-after tourist destinations over the last few years. It stands among the top of several international travel lists like Forbes’ “The 10 coolest places to go in 2019” and Conde Nast’s “best holiday destination in 2020.”
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam shared that a number of foreign countries are producing billions of dollars through eco-tourism.
