Land is not capital to which we have property rights; rather it is the place for which we have moral responsibility in reciprocity for its gift of life. Here is the question we must at last confront: Is land merely a source of belongings, or is it the source of our most profound sense of belonging? We can choose.’’[1]

–Robin Wall Kimmerer

Protected Areas

Among the 6,555 National Parks worldwide, 31 are in Pakistan.[2] Protected Areas, including National Parks, come with multiple benefits, such as:

• mitigation of climate change
• safeguarding of biodiversity
• preserving food security
• maintaining water quality
• conserving natural resources
• providing economic efficiency for local areas
• recreation, etc.[3]

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that “the global network of protected areas stores at least 15% of terrestrial carbon.”

Kirthar National Park

Kirthar National Park (KNP) is the second largest National Park in the country and the only one in the province of Sindh. It was the first national park in Pakistan to be included in the United Nation’s listing of National Parks in 1975 and is listed as a protected Category II area by the IUCN. Recently, there has been evidence of a major housing development project built adjacent to KNP stretching its reach into the borders of KNP itself. In a case concerning Bahria Town Karachi’s use of land allocated for its use, the Supreme Court ordered a survey of land occupied by the housing society. The court-ordered survey found Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) to be in possession of 3035 acres more than the legally sanctioned land it was meant to possess. Additionally, of these 3035 acres, 2222 acres fall in district Jamshoro, while 813 acres fall in Malir district.[4] GIS imaging, attached with this article, shows evidence of this encroachment into KNP.

According to the late historian, Gul Hassan Kalmati, the mega housing development in question has been built in a mountainous region. He wrote that many of these mountains were destroyed in building the housing project, as were forests. According to eyewitness accounts, machinery belonging to the housing developers has been cutting through forested areas in KNP to make way for construction. Kalmati writes that rare animal species present in KNP such as the Sindh ibex and the urial sheep, will become extinct due to the development.[5]

International Law on Protected Areas

Given the vast benefits and essential functions of protected areas, there are several international treaties that aim to conserve, protect, maintain and preserve the world’s natural heritage. One of these is the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted by world leaders in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It is a........

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