As of present, there are around 400 protected areas in Pakistan that are recognized by IUCN. The total protected land area represents 13% of Pakistan's landmass as of 2020, The Government of Pakistan plans to increase it to at least 15% by 2023.[1] As a signatory of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Pakistan is committed to expanding its protected areas to encompass 17% of its total territory by the year 2030. This ambitious goal aims to ensure the long-term conservation of nature, safeguard vital ecosystem services, and preserve the cultural values associated with these protected areas.[2]

Statistics

Category Total sites Total area Source site
National parks 26 1,191,323 ha wdpa.org
Wildlife sanctuaries 72 4,912,531 ha wdpa.org
Game reserves 66 3,026,842 ha wdpa.org
Ramsar protected wetlands 19 1,343,627 ha ramsar.org
Marine and littoral protected areas 9 1,186,437 ha southasiamcpaportal.org
Biosphere reserves 2 66,000 ha earthtrends.wri.org

IUCN categories

IUCN Category Total sites
IUCN Category Ia: Strict nature reserves 0
IUCN Category Ib: Wilderness area 0
IUCN Category II: National parks 5
IUCN Category III: Natural monuments 0
IUCN Category IV: Wildlife sanctuaries 62
IUCN Category V: Protected landscapes/seascapes 5
IUCN Category VI: Managed resource protected area 2
Unclassified areas 83
All IUCN Categories 157

Types of protected areas

National parks

Main article: List of national parks of Pakistan

Wildlife sanctuaries

Main article: List of wildlife sanctuaries in Pakistan

Game reserves

Main article: List of game reserves of Pakistan

Protected wetlands

Main article: List of Ramsar wetland sites in Pakistan

Protected and reserved forests

Main article: Protected and reserved forests of Pakistan

Biosphere reserves

Main article: Biosphere reserves of Pakistan

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pakistan's 'Protected Areas Initiative'". 10 July 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Govt notifies 11 sites as 'protected areas' for wildlife conservation". 16 January 2022.

Further reading