Initiated in 1997, the Chitral
& Abbottabad District conservation strategies by theGovernment of NWFP,
through the Sarhad Provincial Conservation project (SPCS Support Unit) with
the technical support of IUCN Pakistan, are two models of decentralized approach
towards development planning. The preparation of CCS was led by the Deputy Commissioner
Chitral and steered by a multi-stakeholder Roundtable. The process started with
the preparation of an inception report followed by mass scale public consultations
at the district, tehsil and village levels. The Women Organizations and minority
groups were also consulted separately. Based on the priorities identified at
these meetings, sectoral papers were commissioned on eleven prioritized topics/areas.
CCS draft is a result of the guidelines provided at the Roundtable meetings,
the views expressed at the public consultations, the sectoral papers and the
deliberations held with partner organizations on a variety of issues through
workshops, meetings etc.The CCS is an initiative for harnessing and improving
the capabilities of the people and institutions in Chitral in the pursuit of
enhancing their livelihoods and quality of life through the optimum use of natural
resources while continually improving their productivity within a decentralized
system of development planning. The objectives of the CCS are multifarious;
however, the key strategic objectives can be summed up as follows:
- Institutionalization
of effective mechanisms (policy, legal, fiscal etc) to foster decentralization
of the development planning processes;
- developing local capacities
to effectively address the environment and development issues; and
- empowerment of local
people through their involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring
of development initiatives through a process of networking with key actors
in Chitral.
The sectoral papers on
the priority areas, highlighting the issues in the sectors and measures required
(short to long term) for their sustainable development are ready. The draft
CCS document has been developed and is currently being reviewed in the light
of the devolution plan. The concept papers on issues like District Level Fund
for Sustainable Development (DLFSD); implementation of CCS in a select geographical
area in Chitral; the role of district strategies and the Roundtables in the
context of devolution plan etc are being developed. Parallel to these strategic
activities, capacity building of the key partners in environment and sustainable
development concepts; networking/collaboration with various organizations;
greening of AKRSP's programmes and support to forums like Chitral Association
for Mountain Areas Tourism and Frontier Forum of Environmental Journalists
(Chitral Chapter) are in progress.Hopefully the District Conservation Strategy
for Chitral, its Roundtable, main document and studies will go a long way
in providing institutional background and technical support to the District
Government in future. Apart from Village Committees and Citizen Community
boards, the District roundtable will play a vital role in providing inputs
to the District Assembly on matters related to good governance, civil society
empowerment, and dissemination of knowledge and operationalization of development
initiatives.
