Threats to Wildlife Biodiversity in Pakistan (8)

Since the past couple of decades, the biodiversity of Pakistan is facing severe threats by climate change, illegal hunting/poaching, and other disastrous human activities including all 5 forms of pollution. These threats have started to arouse fear in the majority of people that our country's biodiversity may get wiped out. Such threats are a lot in number, but a few of them put nature at great risk. They are listed and described in detail below.

Illegal Hunting/Poaching/Fishing:

Illegal hunting is extremely common in Pakistan. In the wetlands and savannahs of Pakistan, hunting is a popular sport carried out by the rich. Special birds such as Chukors, Whistling Ducks and Kites are shot in large numbers, and the hunters don't give a thought about their sport's impact on the environment. As a result, the food chain is disturbed and thus insects such as locusts are rising.

The so called 'game birds' ' populations are rapidly declining, and many migratory birds also face vulnerability.

Bara Singha is a very unique species of deer which is now headed towards endangerment as hunting activities rise. Blue bulls are also hunted for their skin and fatty meat in rural areas. Markhor hunting is also a popular sport in the northern areas, whereas bear hunting and capturing is common in parts of Balochistan.

But perhaps the greatest danger to the wildlife biodiversity in Pakistan is the increased amount of fishing which is threatening some very notable marine animals. The Indus River Dolphin is one of those animals, and its population in the Indus River and its channels is decreasing due to lots of fishing nets and traps. Also, two major species of crocodile in freshwater areas (The "mugger crocodiles" and the "gharial crocodiles") are at a huge risk of extinction in Pakistan because of them getting entangled in large nets and getting crushed by boat and ship material.

Habitat Loss: Deforestation in the northern areas is creating hardships for Markhor colonies and Snow Leopards, whereas it occurring in the mountains of Balochistan harms black bears. Mining and drilling is disrupting hibernation schedules of marmots. Deforestation also leads to the homelessness of many birds.

Climate Change: Climate change is affecting the species of the Himalayan Brown Bear to a great extent, as well as the varieties of black bears as melting ice and rising temperatures create unfavorable conditions for them. Marmots also evacuate hot areas as they are not adapted to reside in them, leading to an unbalanced ecosystems as their withdrawal would mean starvation for snakes. 

Pollution: Presumably one of the biggest threats to the wildlife biodiversity in Pakistan, pollution is by no means decreasing. Harmful chemical substances and waste products enter water bodies and severely contaminate it, leading to the death of species such as the Indus River Dolphin and the Mugger as well as gharial crocodiles. Other small and exotic fishes are also killed in the process, thus noticeably affecting the biodiversity of our beloved country. Smog and toxic substances in the air trouble and kill many animals. Landfills lead to large insect manifestations creating an unbalanced food chain.

Sound pollution disturbs hibernating animals such as marmots and bears while light pollution confuses migrating birds.