The Balochistan Conservation Strategy (BCS) was prepared by the government of Balochistan with the technical assistance of IUCN–The World Conservation Union. It is the product of three years of work. It involved a great deal of discussion with all those who have a stake in the future of the province. It was recognized from the outset that there could be no ’quick fix’ for the problems of water supply, rapid urbanization, and the deterioration of rangelands and their natural re sources. Dealing with the complex issues confronting the province will re quire a concerted programme of action for many years to come. The BCS focuses on an action programme to be implemented over the next 10 years .

The report has three parts. The first (Chapters 1 and 2) provides the rationale, process, and framework for the BCS. It includes a key section on principles, goals, and objectives. The second and more substantial part (Chapters 3–18) contains the ’building blocks’ of the strategy. The third part (Chapters 19–23) is concerned with how the strategy will be implemented, resources mobilized, and progress assessed.

PART I: BACKGROUND
Balochistan has a rich history dating back to the Stone Age . Then, as now, people depended on the natural resources of this arid region.

Balochistan led the world in the domestication of native plants and animals that now form the basis of the a group astral systems and settlement patterns we see today. The government is determined to achieve prosperity and progress for the people of Balochistan. It intends to achieve this through the optimal use of resources, new policy initiatives, financial discipline, and balanced inter-sectoral and inter-regional development.

The Ninth Five-Year Plan recognizes that progress and prosperity cannot be measured in economic or monetary terms alone. It also has to do with access to health care, education, and basic civic amenities. It entails giving citizens an opportunity to influence public policy. They must be participants in decision-making on the development and use of natural resources.

The BCS places particular emphasis on the need to protect the natural environment. It is a strategic plan, prepared through a participatory process, designed to define and confront the issues facing the socio-economic development of the province based on the sustainable use of its natural resources.

The BCS comes at an important time in the province’s development. In March 1999, the government released a Poverty Alleviation Strategy (PAS) for the province. The PAS is targeted at the estimated 70% of the population and its focus is development. Emphasis is placed on increasing production and exports in the agriculture, live stock, fisheries and industrial sectors. Achieving development objectives and dealing effectively with poverty depends, for at least the next decade, on the ability to manage natural re sources in a sustainable manner and to conserve the environment. This is where the need for a strategic plan comes to the fore in underpinning the government’s attempts to reconcile its environment and development objectives .

Points of Departure
Events at the provincial, national and international level provide the context, precedents and momentum for the development of the BCS. The reality is that for much of its recent history, Balochistan has been confronted with major environmental challenges. The shortage of water and degraded pastures and forests have been the subjects of concern for decades. Settlements are characterized by poor planning, contaminated water supplies, inefficient or non-existent sanitation and waste management services and air pollution. The situation is getting worse as the population expands and urbanization accelerates. Interventions in the natural resource sector have been numerous, extensive and expensive since at least the 1950s. Nevertheless, when the government of the Netherlands published an Environmental Profile Balochistan in 1992, it drew attention to a growing and widespread concern about the state of the environment and the sustainability of the province’s natural resources. Clearly, sector al interventions on their own have not produced the desired results. On the basis of that report, the government of Balochistan announced its intention to develop a conservation strategy.

In 1992, the Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (NCS) was approved. The NCS set out a 10-year environmental action plan for Pakistan. Most important, it recognized the importance of implementation at the provincial level. Provincial conservation strategies are to be based on the objectives, priorities and recommendations of the NCS, adapted to the needs, potentials and aspirations of the people in each province. There is an important international dimension to the strategy. Balochistan is bounded by Iran and Afghanistan and by the Arabian Sea. It shares many resources with its neighbours , including water, fish, and wildlife, and is conscious of its responsibilities as a steward of these trans boundary resources. Pakistan is a signatory to many international agreements and is active in fulfilling its obligations under numerous environmental and conservation conventions.

P r o c e s s
A high-level Steering Committee guided the development of the BCS. This committee is chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary (Development). Its members are the secretaries of provincial government departments and representatives of the private sector and civil society. The process involved building a broad constituency of support for the preparation and implementation of the BCS. The process reached out to local people through a series of district - level public consultation meetings . Background papers we re prepared, mainly by local authors. Close working relationships were developed with related projects and programmes. The real strength of the process came from the wide stakeholder participation in numerous groups setup to consider and debate issues dealt with in the strategy. The BCS process has gone a long way towards developing a participatory culture in decision making.

Probably the single most important outcome of the process was the development of principles, goal and objectives. The overall goal of the strategy is the well-being of the people and ecosystems in Balochistan. Based on the underlying principles agreed on, the objectives of the BCS are:

• providing a framework and strategic plan for conservation of the environment and sustainable use of natural resources;

• promoting behavioral change for the protection of the environment, biodiversity and natural resources;

• facilitating better access to information for improved decision-making at all levels; and

• improving mechanisms for promoting public awareness and popular support for the sustainable use of resources;

The principles, goal and objectives are of fundamental significance. If development conforms to these, then the prospects for a sustainable future for the province is assured. They will guide the preparation, planning, and implementation of all development programmes in the social, economic and natural resource sectors.