List of national parks of Pakistan

Pakistan has 25 protected areas known as national parks. As of 2009, 19 of these are under supervision of respective provincial governments and remaining are in private care.^[1] Only some of these are under the conservation scope of IUCN. Protection and conservation of the environment of Pakistan was included in the concurrent constitution of 1973. As a result, Environment Protection Ordinance was enacted in 1983, which was mainly regulated by the Environment and Urban Affairs Division. Later, a new system of 'Modern Protected Areas' legislation began at the provincial level which assigned the protected areas with designations such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Further recommendations of the national parks of the Indomalaya ecozone were highlighted in the IUCN review of 1986.^[2] Nevertheless, the development of national parks was mainly carried out by National Conservation Strategy of 1992. Due to more awareness about their importance in conservation of biodiversity, 10 national parks have been established during the time period from 1993 to 2005.^[1]

According to the 'Modern Protected Areas' legislation, a national park is a protected area set aside by the government for the protection and conservation of its outstanding scenery and wildlife in a natural state. It is accessible to public for research, education and recreation. In order to promote public use, construction of roads and rest houses is permitted. Use of firearms, polluting water, cleaning of land for cultivation, destruction of wildlife is banned in these areas.^[3] The oldest national park is Lal Suhanra in Bahawalpur District, established in 1972.^[4] It is also the only biosphere reserve of Pakistan. Lal Suhanra is the only national park established before the independence of the nation in August 1947. The main purpose of this area was to protect the wildlife of Cholistan Desert.^[3] The most recent addition is the Kala Chitta in Attock District, established in 2009.^[4] Central Karakoram in Gilgit Baltistan is currently the largest national park in the country, spanning over a total approximate area of &100000000013901000000001,390,100 hectares (3,435,011.9 acres). The smallest national park is the Ayub, covering a total approximate area of &10000000000000931000000931 hectares (2,300.6 acres).

National Parks of Pakistan
Ayub Ayubia Central Karakorum Chinji Chitral Gol Deosai Deva Vatala Dhrun Ghamot Gurez Hazarganji-Chiltan Hingol K2 Kala Chitta Khunjerab Kirthar Lal Suhanra	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 click on a 'mark' to open the article of respective national park	Lulusar-Dudipatsar Machiara Margalla Hills Pir Lasura Saiful Muluk Shandur-Hundrup Sheikh Buddin Toli Pir Region key Azad Kashmir Balochistan Gilgit Baltistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Sindh

National parks

National park	Established	Area	District(s)	Province	Coordinates
Ayub	—	&10000000000000931000000931 !931 ha (2,301 acres)[5]	Rawalpindi	Punjab	33°34′00″N 73°30′00″E / 33.566700°N 73.499998°E / 33.566700; 73.499998 (Ayub National Park)
Ayubia	1984[3]	&100000000000033120000003,312 !3,312 ha (8,184 acres)[6]	Abbottabad	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	33°51′55″N 73°08′20″E / 33.865231°N 73.138768°E / 33.865231; 73.138768 (Ayubia National Park)
Central Karakoram	1993[3]	&100000000013901000000001,390,100 !1,390,100 ha (3,435,012 acres)[1]	Gilgit and Skardu	Gilgit Baltistan	36°53′52″N 75°05′37″E / 36.897708°N 75.093545°E / 36.897708; 75.093545 (Central Karakoram National Park)
Chinji	1987[3]	&100000000000060950000006,095 !6,095 ha (15,061 acres)[1]	Chakwal	Punjab	33°00′37″N 72°29′31″E / 33.010242°N 72.491940°E / 33.010242; 72.491940 (Chinji National Park)
Chitral Gol	1984[3]	&100000000000077500000007,750 !7,750 ha (19,151 acres)[1]	Chitral	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	35°55′59″N 71°40′14″E / 35.933082°N 71.670693°E / 35.933082; 71.670693 (Chitral Gol National Park)
Deosai	1993[3]	&10000000000358400000000358,400 !358,400 ha (885,626 acres)[1]	Skardu	Gilgit Baltistan	34°58′21″N 75°23′47″E / 34.972626°N 75.396423°E / 34.972626; 75.396423 (Deosai National Park)
Deva Vatala	2009[4]	&100000000000029930000002,993 !2,993 ha (7,396 acres)[7]	Bhimber	Azad Kashmir	32°53′33″N 74°18′11″E / 32.892583°N 74.303172°E / 32.892583; 74.303172 (Deva Vatala National Park)
Dhrun	1988[8]	&10000000000167700000000167,700 !167,700 ha (414,396 acres)[8]	Awaran and Lasbela	Balochistan	25°41′25″N 66°12′15″E / 25.690405°N 66.204289°E / 25.690405; 66.204289 (Dhrun National Park)
Ghamot	2004[9]	&1000000000002727100000027,271 !27,271 ha (67,388 acres)[7]	Neelum	Azad Kashmir	35°00′25″N 74°12′01″E / 35.006943°N 74.200287°E / 35.006943; 74.200287 (Ghamot National Park)
Gurez	2009[10]	&1000000000005281500000052,815 !52,815 ha (130,509 acres)[7]	Neelum	Azad Kashmir	34°43′53″N 74°47′12″E / 34.731456°N 74.786682°E / 34.731456; 74.786682 (Gurez National Park)
Hazarganji-Chiltan	1980[3]	&1000000000001555500000015,555 !15,555 ha (38,437 acres)[1]	Quetta	Balochistan	30°17′09″N 67°12′08″E / 30.285695°N 67.202298°E / 30.285695; 67.202298 (Hazarganji-Chiltan National Park)
Hingol	1988[3]	&10000000000165004000000165,004 !165,004 ha (407,734 acres)[1]	Awaran, Gwadar and Lasbela	Balochistan	25°31′34″N 65°05′10″E / 25.526246°N 65.085996°E / 25.526246; 65.085996 (Hingol National Park)
K2	—	&10000000000233468000000233,468 !233,468 ha (576,912 acres)[11]	Gilgit	Gilgit Baltistan	35°47′17″N 76°10′58″E / 35.788171°N 76.182888°E / 35.788171; 76.182888 (K2 National Park)
Kala Chitta	2009[4]	—	Attock	Punjab	33°38′34″N 72°24′03″E / 33.642685°N 72.400824°E / 33.642685; 72.400824 (Kala Chitta National Park)
Khunjerab	1975[3]	&10000000000226913000000226,913 !226,913 ha (560,714 acres)[1]	Gilgit	Gilgit Baltistan	36°30′03″N 75°38′37″E / 36.500805°N 75.643616°E / 36.500805; 75.643616 (Khunjerab National Park)
Kirthar	1974[3]	&10000000000308733000000308,733 !308,733 ha (762,896 acres)[1]	Dadu	Sindh	25°39′29″N 67°32′56″E / 25.658107°N 67.548975°E / 25.658107; 67.548975 (Kirthar National Park)
Lal Suhanra	1972[4]	&1000000000008742600000087,426 !87,426 ha (216,034 acres)[1]	Bahawalpur	Punjab	29°23′51″N 72°01′33″E / 29.397409°N 72.025811°E / 29.397409; 72.025811 (Lal Suhanra National Park)
Lulusar-Dudipatsar	2003[3]	&1000000000003037500000030,375 !30,375 ha (75,058 acres)[3]	Mansehra	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	35°05′27″N 73°55′47″E / 35.090698°N 73.929749°E / 35.090698; 73.929749 (Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park)
Machiara	1996[3]	&1000000000001353200000013,532 !13,532 ha (33,438 acres)[7]	Muzaffarabad	Azad Kashmir	34°30′24″N 73°33′55″E / 34.506557°N 73.565140°E / 34.506557; 73.565140 (Machiara National Park)
Margalla Hills	1980[3]	&1000000000001738600000017,386 !17,386 ha (42,962 acres)[1]	Rawalpindi	Punjab	33°45′16″N 72°57′23″E / 33.754317°N 72.956429°E / 33.754317; 72.956429 (Margalla Hills National Park)
Pir Lasura	2005[3]	&100000000000056250000005,625 !5,625 ha (13,900 acres)[1]	Kotli	Azad Kashmir	33°38′21″N 73°50′48″E / 33.639204°N 73.846664°E / 33.639204; 73.846664 (Pir Lasura National Park)
Saiful Muluk	2003[3]	&100000000000048670000004,867 !4,867 ha (12,027 acres)[3]	Mansehra	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	34°52′51″N 73°41′54″E / 34.880862°N 73.698349°E / 34.880862; 73.698349 (Saiful Muluk National Park)
Shandur-Hundrup	1993[3]	&10000000000164000000000164,000 !164,000 ha (405,253 acres)[1]	Ghizer	Gilgit Baltistan	36°00′23″N 72°37′01″E / 36.006340°N 72.616882°E / 36.006340; 72.616882 (Shandur-Hundrup National Park)
Sheikh Buddin	1993[3]	&1000000000001554000000015,540 !15,540 ha (38,400 acres)[1]	Dera Ismail Khan	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	32°22′56″N 70°56′59″E / 32.382281°N 70.949707°E / 32.382281; 70.949707 (Sheikh Buddin National Park)
Toli Pir	2005[3]	&100000000000050450000005,045 !5,045 ha (12,466 acres)[1]	Poonch	Azad Kashmir	34°07′15″N 73°37′59″E / 34.12090°N 73.633118°E / 34.12090; 73.633118 (Toli Pir National Park)

Pictures

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  Forest in Ayubia National Park

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  Baltoro glacier is found in Central Karakoram National Park

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  Plain of Deosai National Park

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  Mud volcano in Hingol National Park

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  Lulusar at Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park

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  Dudipatsar at Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park

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  Lake Saiful Muluk at Saiful Muluk National Park

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  Cold water spring of Kirthar National Park

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} "Review of 'Protected Areas System' in Pakistan: Present status and problems concerning future development (Page 8, 9, 15)". dergiler.ankara.edu.tr. Ankara University. 2010. http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/47/1155/13587.pdf. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
2. ^ "Pakistan Protected Areas: Meeting Proceedings". iucn.pk. IUCN, Pakistan. 1994. http://www.iucn.pk/publications/Pakistan%20Protected%20Areas.pdf. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} "Country Report on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – Pakistan". parc.gov.pk. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council. http://www.parc.gov.pk/CountryReport.pdf. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Canadian Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, an international journal: Current issue (Number: 4, Volume: 2, June 2010) Online ISSN 1920-3853". cjpas.net. SENRA Academic Publishers, Burnaby, British Columbia. 2010. http://cjpas.net/current_issue.pdf. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
5. ^ "Ayub National Park". wdpa.org. World Database on protected Areas. http://www.wdpa.org/siteSheet.aspx?sitecode=68486. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
6. ^ "Improving Sub-Watershed Management and Environmental Awareness in the Ayubia National Park". wwf.panda.org. WWF -Pakistan. http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/pakistan/index.cfm?uProjectID=PK0115. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} "Protected areas of AJK". forest.ajk.gov.pk. Government of Azad and Jammu Kashmir. 2009. http://forest.ajk.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=103. Retrieved September 7, 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Dhrun National Park". wdpa.org. World Database on protected Areas. http://www.wdpa.org/siteSheet.aspx?sitecode=6739. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
9. ^ "(Fourth national report) Biodiversity of Pakistan: Status trends and threats". cbd.int. Convention on Biological Diversity, International. http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/nr/4nrcbw-asi-01/other/pakistan-en.pdf. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
10. ^ "Musk Deer National Park, Guraiz (MDNPG) conflict: Who is responsible?". kashmirnewswatch.com. Kashmir News Watch. http://www.kashmirnewswatch.com/musk-deer-national-park-guraiz-mdnpg-conflictwho-is-responsible/. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
11. ^ "K2 National Park". wdpa.org. World Database on protected Areas. http://www.wdpa.org/siteSheet.aspx?sitecode=303306. Retrieved September 8, 2010.