Biodiversity of Balochistan &

Conservation

Mohammad Yahya Musakhel

Provincial Coordinator Balochistan
WWF-Pakistan
 Presentation Outline

 A birds eye view on the biodiversity of Pakistan

 Balochistan; An Overview
 Floral diversity in Balochistan
 Faunal Diversity in Balochistan
 Issues
 Recommendations
Balochistan: An Overview
 Balochistan: An Overview
The land of different Ecological Contrasts
 Balochistan occupies 34.7 million ha. Mostly semi
arid and arid high plateau
 Topography is the key factor with the greatest
influence on Balochistan’s natural vegetation.
 Elevation ranges from 0 – 3900+ m
 Mostly receive precipitation in winter
 60% of the province is desert, rock and gravel
 About 2% of the Province is forested, mostly
shrubs
 Balochistan: An Overview

 Five out of ten Endangered eco- systems are

in Balochistan
 Home of 1,750 known plant species
 Two mammals,6 reptiles, 8 fresh water
fishes, are endemic to Balochistan
 Provide traditional route to migratory birds
species including Houbara, Falcons, Cranes,
and other water fowls
 Balochistan: An Overview
Species Richness
Class Species in Pakistan Species in
Balochistan
Plants 5700 1750

Mammals 188 71

Birds 666 356

Reptiles 174 96

Amphibians 14 8

Fresh water Fish 625 61

 Balochistan: An Overview

Protected Areas of Balochistan

 National Parks 02
 Wildlife sanctuaries 13
 Game reserve 06
 Community reserves 03
 State Forests 613,000(ha)
 Protected Forests 220,000(ha)
Balochistan: An Overview
(Forests)
Balochistan: An Overview
(WETLANDS)
Balochistan: An Overview
(Desert)
Precipitation
 Ecological Zones
 Tropical Thorn forest Zone
 Sub Tropical Broad leaves Evergreen
forest Zone
 Dry Temperate Forest Zone
 Arid Desert Zone
 Tropical Thorn forest Zone
 Open low forest in which thorny hard
wooded species predominate
 Tree species have short boles and low
branching crowns
 Usually trees height ranges from 7-10 m.
 Usually mixture of Species
 Leaves are small
Tropical Thorn forest Zone( Cont’d)

 Majority of Shrubs, Spiny & dwarf Trees

 Heavy browsing; by goats & camels
 Annual mean Temperature 24-27ºC
 Maximum annual rainfall ranges from
127-400 m.
 Soil mostly sandy clay, near hills often
stony
 Tropical Thorn forest
Defining Zone( Cont’d)
community

General Floristic
 Acacia, Prosopis are strongly represented
 Chenopodiaceae often predominate with
several genera mostly Salsola and Haloxylon
 Other genera; Calotropis, Capparis, Ziziphus,
Salvadora, Tamarix, Aristida, Euphorbia, Acacia
 Tropical Thorn forest Zone
Lasbella

 Acacia Sengal (Kour) Timber, Fuel wood

 Tamarix aphylla (Ghaz) Timber, Shelter FW
 Ziziphus nummularea (Kuner) Edible fruit, FW, Fodder
 Artemisia Sp. (Kohi Darna) Medicinal; Fever, Jaundice
 Lycium Sp. (Kutuk) Medicinal Internal wounds
 Haloxylon Sp. (Laren) Fuel wood, Shelter
 Cadaba farinosa (Kotar) Fuel wood
Subtropical Broad Leaves Evergreen
Forest Zone

 Low forests of branchy trees forming a canopy

 Typically filled in with shrubs
 Trees and shrubs are mostly thorny & often
small evergreen leaves except Olive,
Pomegranate, Pistacia
 Usually little ground cover, but during monsoon
fairly complete cover of grasses
Subtropical Broad Leaves Evergreen Forest
Zone (Cont’d)

 Rainfall Ranges from 250 mm to 750mm/y.

 Average mean Temperature 26.6 - 32ºC
 Forest cover low slopes of the hills 500m-2950m
 Soil is usually shallow & dry with great variety of
geological formation
 Areas fall in this Zone: Zhob, Musakhel,
Barkhan, Kohlo and Wadh
 Subtropical Broad Leaves Evergreen Forest Zone
(Cont’d)

General Floristic
• Olea ferrugina, Acacia modesta, Pistacia,
Punica, Fraxinus, Dodonaea, Withania,
Rhazya, Nerium, Nannorrhops, Cotonoster
 Subtropical Broad Leaves Evergreen Forest
Zone (Musakhel )

 Acacia modesta (Palosa) Timber, gum, Fodder, FW

 Olea ferrugina (Showan) Timber, Fruit, Tea, FW
 Tecomella undulata (Rawdaiwan) Timber,
Ornamental
 Pistacia khinjuk (Wana) Gum, Fruit, Timber, FW
 Zizipus oxyphylla (Gargool) Fruit, Fencing, Tonic,
FW, FD
 Caralluma edulis (Pamanai) Diabetes, Economic
 Withania coagulans (Khamazor) body Heat, wounds
 Plantago ovata Aspighol) Constipation, economic
 Dry Temperate Forest Zone

 Relatively un-favorable climatic conditions

 Canopy; widely spread, free standing, low branching
 Considerable shrubs layer
 Whole of vegetation is xerophytic
 Aromatic shrubs predominate, many are thorny
 Grasses are mostly small
Dry Temperate Forest Zone (Cont’d)
 Altitudinal range from 1600 – 3600+ m
 Winter is long and cold
 Precipitation is low then 750 mm/y
 Soil mostly rocky slopes
 Area fall in this zone; Sulaiman Range (Zhob,
Musakhel), Torghar (Killa saifullah), Ziarat, Takatu
& Hazar Gangi (Quetta, Mastung) & Harboi (Kalat).
 Dry Temperate Forest Zone (Cont’d)

 Floristic:
 Pinus gerardiana, P. willichiana, Juniperus
excelsa, predominating
 Fraxinus xanthoxyloides, Pistacia, Populus,
Salix, Ficus
 In shrubs Seriphedium (Artemisia), Caragna,
Berberis, Ephedra & Rosa are dominated
species.
 Arid Desert Zone
 The plants are widely spaced
 General floristic condition is herbaceous
 Extremely variable vegetation; from completely
barren ground to medium density shrubs and tree
cover
 Climate is harsh and summer is long
 Annual mean rainfall less then 50 to 250mm
 Arid Desert Zone (Cont’d)
 The land is mainly used for grazing
 Tamarix and Haloxylon are predominate
 Great variety of geological formation
 General Floristic:
 Tamarix aphylla, Haloxylon presicum,
Alhaji Sp., Pistacia khinjuk, Euphorbia sp.,
Zizphus Sp.
 Arid Desert Zone (Noshki)

 Pistacia khinjuk (Gowan) Fruit, Gum, Timber, Econ

 Tamarix aphylla (Ghaz) Timber, FD, Shelter
 Achillea wilhelmsii (Boi Madran) Multi purpose use Med,
 Ferrula asa-foetuda (Hing) Economic, Medicinal
 Zygophyllum Sp. (Aalonj) Fodder
Faunal Diversity of Balochistan
The Province supports world's largest
surviving population of Chiltan and
Suliman Markhors
 Balochitan supports three sub-
species of Markhor including Kabul,
Chiltan and Suleman
This Province supports sub-
species of Afghan Urial.
CHINKARA
Sindh Ibex
Refuge to Balochistan Black Bear
Endangered Common leopard found
in the Province
Asian Cheetah rediscovered in
Dalbandeen
 Four species of partridges including Grey,
Black, See- see and Chukar are found
throughout the Province.
WOLF
Hawfinch
DEMOISELLE CRANE

SIBERIAN CRANE
 SHOVELER SAKER FALCON

RUDDY SHELDUCK MALLARD

Black Cobra
 Why Biodiversity is Important?

 Human health e.g. trees form oxygen,

clean water for good health, / use for
medicinal purposes
 For natural balance of animals, plants,
birds, insects, smaller organisms e.g.
– Predator prey relations in the life
systems (ecosystems) e.g. Dragonfly
and mosquito
Why Biodiversity is Important?
 Protection against natural calamities
like land sliding, floods, sand storms
etc. (Role of forests and grasslands)
 Economic benefit (eco-tourism, income
from trophy hunting shared with the
community. This income makes
protection and sustainable
development possible)
Major Issues to Balochistan’s
Diversity
 Major Issues

 Illicit cutting
 Up-rooting and unsustainable utilization
 Habitat destruction
 Graving of lands of wilderness area
 Human population growth and
urbanization
 Lack of Baseline data
 Lack of research studies
 Major Issues

 Shrinking habitats because of

– Agriculture expansion
– Deforestation
– Pollution
– Monoculture forestation
– Drainage of wetlands
– Mineral extraction
– New-settlements and over-exploitation of
rangelands
– Livestock population increasing
 Recommendations
• Detailed baseline surveys
• Research studies on threshold level
• Regular data collection (Composition, dry
biomass etc).
• Sustainable use plan (grazing, marketing,
domestic use)
 Recommendations
• Mass awareness
• Fuel wood & commercial timber production
• Networking and sharing of experiences
• Re activation of tradition grazing systems
(Pargor/ Rakh)
• Non-timber forest products (Medicinal plants)
• Promotion of community based conservation
initiatives
• Watershed management in catchments areas.
 Mitigation Efforts
Sustainable Use Specialist Group for
Central Asia
 Documentation of Baseline data
 Conservation
 Rehabilitation of Degraded areas
 Trainings and awareness
 Land use plans and
 Sustainable utilization of economic plants
 What Need To Be Done

 Integrated approach initiation

 Develop political will for conservation

 Resource allocation for biodiversity

 Conservation of biodiversity along with

development
 What Need To Be Done

 What WE have learned today WE can share it with

our friends, parents and family
 Next time WE see a plant, tree, bird, fish, or any
other animal WE must think about the important role
that they play in OUR lives and try to protect it
 WE should try to plant more trees, at least one tree
every year
 Realize that every drop of water supports all kinds
of life so WE will try to conserve Water
 WE should try to generate less waste so that WE
can live a healthy life
 Thank you for your kind
attention & patience

Your valuable comments and questions

are welcomed