Environmental degradation and the outright destruction of precious natural habitats is adversely affecting the bio-diversity of Pakistan as a whole and the rate at which animals, plants, birds, fish, reptiles and corals are becoming endangered is alarming indeed.

Human expansionism, uncontrolled pollution of land, air, fresh and salt water by toxins of numerous kinds, tree felling, burning of forest and rangeland and a whole host of other thoughtless issues are debilitating the environment and everything living in it — including the human race — to the point of no return. It is feared that conservation efforts will, unless realistically geared up, not be able to prevent the extinction of a horrifying number of indigenous and migratory species in the not too distant future.

The critical situation faced by species such as Snow leopards, the Indus Blind Dolphin and Hubara bustard is often publicised but the plight of countless others receives little or no attention. If the situation is to alter for the better, awareness levels must be raised all round in the hope that someone, somewhere, will take the initiative to protect and preserve our natural heritage and localised ecosystems on which they all depend.

It may, to some, sound like a futile and pointless exercise when looked at in conjunction with the plight of so many disadvantaged people in the country but it must be realised that all life forms, human, animal, bird and otherwise, rely on each other for survival somewhere along the line and that to ignorantly create imbalance in nature ultimately affects the quality of life for all.

Of the critically endangered species in Pakistan the plight of the Snow leopard possibly captures the most attention yet the Himalayan brown bear, with numbers between 30 to 62 depending on source, is liable to disappear first, although The Baltistan Wildlife Sanctuary and World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan are both involved in trying to save and regenerate this species which survives mainly on the relatively inaccessible Deosai Plains in the far north of the country.

The struggle against extinction currently being fought by the famous Green turtles of Sandspit is well known, as is the plight of the Marco Polo sheep but who has paid any attention to the Wooly flying squirrel, the White-headed duck or the Western tragapogon if, that is, they have even heard of them at all.

There are approximately 4,100 species of mammals on this exceedingly abused planet and only 188 of these have been recorded in Pakistan and this number is dwindling at the speed of light. Snow leopards, the Markhor, Himalayan Ibex, Sindh wild goat, Chiltan wild goat, Marco Polo sheep, Bharal sheep, Goral sheep, Baluchistan Black Bear, Himalayan Brown bear, Woolly flying squirrel, Giant flying squirrel, Gray langur and even the ordinary leopard are being rapidly pushed towards extinction. The Altai weasel, Argali, Baluchistan forest dormouse, Burrowing vole, Central Kashmir vole, Cyprian wild sheep, Pangolin, Kashmir musk deer, Little hairy-footed gerbil, Pallas’s cat, Red deer and Smooth-coated otter are also on the endangered list.

On the bird front, aside from the Hubara bustard which is mercilessly hunted by Arab dignitaries, with Pakistan government issued licenses, migratory cranes are also massacred on a massive scale. Other critically endangered or fast heading this way bird species include: Baer’s pochard, Black-bellied tern, Bristled grassbird, Chir pheasant, Great Indian bustard, Indian skimmer, Indian spotted eagle, Jerdon’s babbler, Laggar falcon, Oriental darter, Painted stork, Pale-backed pigeon, Pallas’s fish eagle, Rufous-vented prinia and the Yellow-rumped honey guide; are all threatened.

Reptiles may not be everyone’s favourite life form but they too have their designated roles to play in maintaining environmental balance and harmony. Those being pressurised into oblivion include: Afghan tortoise, Crowned river turtle, the soft-shelled turtle, Gavial, Mugger crocodile and Spotted pond turtle.

These lists are by no means exhaustive and if the names of critically and otherwise threatened species of plants, fish, corals, jellyfish and sea anemones were added, this article would go on and on and on but enough are mentioned here to give an idea of the environmental emergency — this is no exaggeration — faced by the natural world of Pakistan which is so ruthlessly exploited and taken for granted.

In the words of Mr Fayyaz Shah of the Organisation for the Conservation of Environment and the Nature (OCEAN), an Islamabad based NGO ‘There is no species as short-sightedly self-destructive as the (in)human race which will not be satisfied until it has totally annihilated the natural world and itself with it. It is up to people like us to halt the debacle as best we as can.”