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Fabulous potential of Tourism in Chitral

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: A number of drastic measures are required to exploit the fabulous potentials of tourism in Chitral which included mapping and documenting cultural resources, providing road facilities to sites of cultural interest, side valleys and picnic spots motivating the local communities to develop sustainable tourism in areas of cultural or ecological interest. A study report conducted by Chitral Conservation Strategy of IUCN, says that Chitral’s main tourism attractions are mountaineering, a pleasant summer climate and the unique culture of the Kalash people while due to its rugged landscape and rich biodiversity, the area is an ideal destination for ecotourism. Enumerating the impediments for promotion of tourism, the study mentions the lack of interest in the local communities to develop the sector, absence of proper road infrastructure, absence of any control mechanism to protect both the cultural heritage and the environment. Regarding the overwhelming sphere of influence of tourism on other sectors of development, the study says that developing tourism will also provide incentives to the local government to undertake initiatives in other sectors such reducing air pollution providing sewage and solid waste disposal facilities, improving communications, conserving biodiversity and diversifying agriculture. The study, however, proposes that tourism in Chitral must be culturally sensitive as well as ecologically sustainable and the individual communities must be allowed to decide which type of tourist activities they wish to encourage and in which areas. The study reiterates on organizing tourism in a manner to ensure that its primary beneficiaries are the local people. “Towards this end, it is essential to train tourist guides for trekking, mountaineering and wildlife observation”, they study says. To protect the cultural heritage an environment of Chitral, it is essential that the expansion of tourism be guided by ecological and environmental concerns and that the process be carefully monitored. Recommending strategy for tourism development, the study further suggests that the areas hitherto closed to tourists, imposing environmental levy on tourism to generate resources for conservation, initiating training programmes for local tourist guides and evolving financial procedures for sharing the income from tourism among individuals and local communities.

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LAPH organizes experience sharing workshop

By Zahiruddin

CHITRAL: In an experience sharing workshop of Legal Awareness Project for Human Rights (LAPH) and Regional Women Empowerment Project (RWEP) of AKRSP held here the other day, the active role of human rights monitoring committees (HRMCs) was highly appreciated as basic watchdog bodies. Chairman of LAPH, Niaz Ali Shah, project manager of RWEP, Imtiaz Ahmed, gender programme officer of Trocaire Islamabad, Rabia Waqar and the representatives of 47 HRMCs of LAPH. The activities of the committees were described at length and the need was underlined to form more committees on every small village level. It was told that the committees had done a commendable job in pinpointing the issues of human rights violations as and when they cropped up. Sharing the social survey report about rising tendency of suicide among the women folk in Chitral, project manager of RWEP, Imtiaz Ahmed enumerated the root causes of the extreme step taken by the weaker sex. Mr. Ahmed also shared both the short and long term measures propounded in the report to address the issue which has turned into social problem. Meanwhile, an awareness workshop was held by LAPH at Yarkhoon valley about ‘the situation of women rights in Chitral’. Those who spoke on the occasion included chairman Niaz Ali Shah, monitoring and evaluation officer Bibi Fozia, former union nazim of Yarkhoon Muhammad Wazir Khan, a local academician Bulbul Hussain and others. Women folk from the valley participated in the workshop in large number.