Sardar Naseer Tareen: little-known Pakistani hero

Markhor (Capra falconeri) is the national animal of Pakistan. The species is categorized as Endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Suleiman Markhor is the straight-horned species mainly found in Balochistan and KyhberPakhtunkhwa, so the country has a special responsibility to ensure its future survival. Unfortunately, in Pakistan the government seldom bothers with things such as conservation. However, Pakistan is blessed to have citizens who are willing to devote themselves to working for the greater good. One such citizen is Sardar Naseer Tareen. Born in Pishin, Balochistan. Received his initial schooling in Pishin, and higher education in Quetta and Lahore where he attended Government College Lahore from 1953 to 1958 before leaving for USA to study International Relations. After arriving in the United States Tareen switched his course of study to communication and was admitted to The California Institute of Arts, Losangeles in the 1960s. After living for twenty-four years in the US, In 1983 Sardar Naseer came home, He dreamed of making a documentary film on Balochistan to showcase its rich cultural heritage to the world. Tareen had to file an application to the federal government for permission to make his film because the country was under Martial Law. When the authorities in Islamabad did not respond, he approached the government of Balochistan, who informed him that he must first make a short film on the wildlife of Balochistan. Left with no other option he agreed to make the film, and was given files full of encouraging information on Balochistan vast wildlife. To his surprise he soon discovered that the wildlife he was told populated the wilderness of Balochistan existed only in the files of the provincial governments wildlife department. In 1984 he was fortunate enough to discover few Markhor and Urial in Torghar, Toba Kakar Range, Qila Saifullah to complete his film, however the fact that there were only a handful of Markhors and Urials left him with a deep feeling of concern for these majestic animals. Apart from hunting and poaching, massive deforestation and land erosion were making survival difficult for the indigenous wildlife to survive. It quickly became clear to Tareen that the entire ecosystem would collapse and the wildlife in this remote area would soon disappear if steps towards conservation were not taken right away. Sardar Naseer discussed his concern for the declining wildlife in the Toba Kakar Range, Qila Saifullah, with the late Nawab Taimur Shah Jogezai (chief of the Kakar tribe) who told Sardar Naseer about his fruitless petitioning the provincial government to provide game watchers to protect the wildlife in his area. They both agreed that something had be done before it was too late. Sardar Naseer discussed the same problem with Mr. David Ferguson of US Fish and Wildlife Service (US-FWS) and asked for some help in this respect. In December 1984, Dr. Richard Mitchell of the USFWSs Office of Scientific Authority travelled to Pakistan; Dr. Bart OGara, then professor at Montana University and head of the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, and Dr. Bruce Bunting of World Wildlife Fund-US accompanied him. They travelled to Quetta to discuss

opportunities for initiating wildlife conservation activities in Balochistan with the provincial officials. When the then Chief Conservator, Mr. Mohammad Rafiq expressed his inability to start a meaningful project to save the dwindling Markhor population in areas outside effective Government control, the visiting team turned to Sardar Naseer Tareen to initiate a private Conservation Plan. Since in reality the provincial government had very little control in the area, they felt that the only way is to engage the people who live there, tell them about conserving the animals and get them involved in starting a conservation program in Torghar. Nawab Jogezai encouraged Sardar Naseer to follow this strategy and instructed his own son, Nawabzada Mahboob Jogezai to help him in Torghar. Once an avid and skilled hunter, Nawabzada Mahboob gave the program its first victory by being the first hunter in the area to lay down his gun and lead by example, there were an estimated 56 markhor and 85 urial into existence when Torghar Conservation Project (TCP) started in 1985. The area was initially closed to all hunting; seven game guards composed of proficient hunters from the local population was hired to enforce the ban. When animal population recovered sufficiently in 1989, a survey of Urial (Wild Sheep) was conducted and older animals were carefully selected for culling so that the herds breeding rates were not affected. TCP suggested to Government of Balochistan for raising the fees from the original Rs.750 (equivalent to less than US$100 at that time) to US$1000 and issue limited number of Urial hunting permits for trophy-hunting to the foreigners. 20% of the fee was paid to the Provincial Government, while the remaining was used to fund the programme. The hunting of Markhor remained banned until 1997 because of it being listed on Appendix-I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) TCP supported trophy-hunting for the sake of conservation. Controlled hunting of trophy animals was a critical component of the plan for two basic reasons. First, it was to generate the revenue necessary to support the game guard program. Second, it was to impress upon the game guards and other local tribes people that their economic well being was directly tied to the abundance of markhor and urial. Today the project is the largest employer in the area with 93 game guards protecting area approximately 35 km long and 20 km wide (1,800 square kilometers) where the altitude varies between 2,500-3,300 meters. The tribal people have realized that the project is not merely benefiting a few people by providing them employment as game guards but is bringing prosperity to the whole populace. Torghar is now a safe heaven to the largest population of straight horned markhor in the world, and of urial in Pakistan, with the estimated markhor population about 2540 animals and urial to be about 3145 animals in 2010. Sardar Naseer wants to turn the society into an institution so everyone must realize that if they conserve these animals, then they will continue to have the benefits, and this will ensure the program survival in the long run.

Sardar Naseers efforts to save the markhor have won him considerable international acclaim and honours. The Dutch have awarded him a knighthood in the Order of the Golden Ark, French with their LOrder National du Mrite. Duke of Edinburgh with a Certificate of Merit. Recently Torghar Conservation Programme was awarded with the Prestigious Markhor Conservation Award by the CIC International (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation) to honour outstanding conservation performances that link biodiversity conservation and human livelihoods through sustainable use of natural resources. Sardar Tareen is today an important figure in the conservation field in Pakistan. He was a Board Member of WWF-Pakistan for fourteen years and recently retired as member of Scientific Committee of WWF-Pakistan. He is currently the Chairmain of the IUCNs Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SUSG-Central Asia). Sardar Naseers vision has now expanded beyond Torghar. He is currently initiating the conservation of the Balochistan Black Bear in Pab Range, conservation of reptiles in Chagai, Urial, Ibex and Chinkara in Shahnoorani, Khuzdar district of Balochistan. All these programs will be communitybased and rely greatly on the lessons learnt in Torghar.