Project Detail

Natural Resource Management for Conservation of Biodiversity

SUNGI Development Foundation is an NGO working in Hazara since 1992. SUNGI has developed a network of grass root partners in Hazara and established linkages with other NGOs, CBOs and public interest institutions in other parts of the country. SUNGI is working in the following sectors: Community, Institutional and gender development, natural resource management with main focus on conservation of bio-diversity, infrastructure, health and sanitation, training, savings and credit and action research and policy advocacy.

Basic purpose of the project ?Conservation of Biodiversity through NRM and poverty alleviation? is to raise public awareness on sustainable use of natural resources and to promote environmentally sound community based natural resource management systems to restore the natural ecological balance in ecologically degraded areas of the Hazara region. The project will support the management and sustainable utilization of local natural resources for conservation of biodiversity. The major activities are aimed at reviving indigenous varieties of agriculture, introducing income generation activities through credit for livestock, establishing seed clubs, providing training to farmers in forestry, land use planning, nursery raising, documentation of medicinal plants, and water harvesting and controlling soil erosion.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Sungi Development Foundation

Country:

Pakistan

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

Pilot Phase

Grant Amount:

US$ 43,474.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 7,946.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 10,855.00

Project Number:

PAK/95/34

Start Date:

6/1996

End Date:

9/1999

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Gender Focus

As women are custodians of the seed and food women were actively involved in planning, implementation and monitoring of the project. Sungi also focussed on the invlovement most deprived people of the community by providing small credits to start their businesses or increase the productivity of their lands. Through Productive Village infrastructure schemes Sungi helped the communities in rehabilitating their soils through check dams, irrigation channels, etc.

Capacity - Building Component

Capacity building is one of the major areas of intervention of this project and overall Sungi's Operations. Sungi has put in a lot of effort to meet the training requirements of the local communities and have established good linkages with different Government and Non-government organizations to draw upon their expertise for the benefit of the communities. Sungi also tried to establish linkages of the community with the line agencies for the improvement of services at the community level.

Notable Community Participation

Sungi had been involving community in village / Community level planning but community expressed their concern that their concerns are not being incorporated at the policy level while devising Sungi's policies.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Sungi is an advocacy orgaization. As Sungi is working with the farmer communities they have been creating awareness about the negative impacts of introduction of GMOs and other improved varities of different crops and encouraged farmers to grow local varieties of maize, rice and tomato. The local varieties that Sungi mobilized communities to conserve and encouraged them to establish seed banks of include: a. Double Pasandi - A local variety maize found in Kaghan Valley b. Changan - A local tomato variety in Charbanda, Kaghan Valley c. A local variety of Walnut in Kaghan d. Garla - A local variety of rice in Bakot Sungi has also documented the medicinal plants available in the project area and the uses associated with these plants and have produced a booklet in Urdu for distribution in the project area. This booklet contains information on distribution of the species in the project area, its characteristics, medicinal uses of different parts of the plant and method of using the plants for different medical needs.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Sungi used the credit line provided in the project to provide small loans to the community to promote livestock and poultry. In this regard not much emphasis was given to promote indigenous varieties of the poultry or livestock mainly because of the non-availability of the parent stock in sufficient numbers. Sungi also through its PVI programme have enhanced the productivity of 6,255 Kanals of land by construction of irrigation channels and check dams thus benefiting 5,634 people directly. The two water ponds constructed in the project area are sustaining rearing of 7,570 animal heads thus benefiting approximately 1,100 people.

Project Results

A total of 337 community members were trained in forestry related activities.

Over 151,200 plants of different plant species, both forest and fruit plants were planted during the project period.

Three community nurseries of forest plants established, one each in Haripur, Balakot and Abbottabad zones.

Tree protection committees formed in each VC where plantation activity was conducted. These committees helped in monitoring and evaluation of this activity.

Local species belonging to the area were grown in the SUNGI community nurseries and were planted during the subsequent seasons through VCs members.

Information about the availability and usage of 55 medicinal plants was collected, compiled and published in the form of a book in Urdu and distributed among the community partners.

Linkages of communities were established with the sale agents of medicinal plants by organizing exchange visit to local medical stores, ?hakeems? and communities.

Identified 20 resource persons in agriculture field in different zones of SUNGI working area. Resource persons were trained by SUNGI, in collaboration with the line departments.

10 demonstration plots of local field crop (rice, maize and wheat) and vegetable (tomato) varieties were established in Haripur, Balakot, Abbottabad, Battagram and Bakot zones.

8 demonstration plots of ?Double Passandi? maize variety of Kaghan were established in Kaghan and Bakot area. As a result of these demonstration plots the cultivation of local maize variety has been revived.

8 demonstration plots of local tomato variety were developed in Kaghan area. Establishment of these demonstration plots supported training and awareness programs.

200 wild olive plants were grafted during the project in different clusters of Haripur zone for demonstration purpose.

During the project period, maize variety of Kaghan valley was introduced in Bakot, Battagram and high altitudes of Haripur zone. Demonstration plot technique was used for the re-introduction of this variety.

Local breeds of poultry were identified and 21 small loans were disbursed to promote poultry and livestock.

20 training sessions in livestock and poultry management were conducted in project area. Training for livestock management was held both for males and females, however, poultry management training was only for female community partners.

Linkages were developed with the line departments, such as Livestock Department and Jaba Farm, Livestock Extension Department. Partners from these institutions helped SUNGI in conducting training, organizing livestock / poultry field days and community exposure visits.

NRM committees established in all VCs/FVCs. These committees are responsible for all NRM related activities in their respective VC/FVC.

During the project period NRM section conducted training sessions on forestry, agriculture, livestock, land use planing and water harvesting techniques in which 537 community members participated.

Grass species in different areas having fodder and other nutritional value were identified and relevant information was disseminated among the community members in the form of leaflets.

30 demonstration plots of fodder grasses/crops were established in different clusters under this project in collaboration with the community members.

Farmers were identified from the VCs who received training of sustainable land use planning. 537 farmers attended the training sessions on different NRM practices in which the concept of sustainable land use planning was discussed.

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