Baseer ud din Qureshi

Conservation of Himalayan Musk Deer In and Around Salkhla Game Reserve

Mr Baseer on a field survey.

Village Salkhla and behind the village a view of Salkhla Game reserve.

Mr Baseer delivering information in community awareness workshop Salkhla.

A student giving feed back after a conservation awareness session in community school Salkhla.

The painting were used during the conservation workshops.

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Neelum ValleyPakistanEducation, Indian Sub-continent, Mammals29 Sep 2008

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir population of Musk deer is under the threat due to illegal killing for musk pod collection. Habitat degradation, livestock grazing, forest cutting and other unsustainable practices in potential habitat of musk deer are additional factors which result in decline of population of this wild ungulate.

Under this project research study will be conducted to collect data on the population and habitat status of musk deer in Salkhla Game Reserve and surrounding forest. For this purpose intensive survey and population estimation techniques will be used to estimate the population of musk deer in the study area. Secondary information will be collected from local knowledgeable persons through questionnaire which will be helpful to access the trend in population and threats to musk deer in the area.

Conservation awareness campaign will be undertaken in the schools of the project area. Students will be educated about the importance and conservation of wildlife and its habitat. Audio-visual material will be played in the schools and public places to develop the interest of students and general public in wildlife conservation and sustainable use. Art and essay writing competition will be conducted between the students.

Workshops will be conducted for the community living around study area in the villages for conservation awareness. Local community organizations will participate and NGOs like EHED (Environment Health and Energy for Development) will provide technical support during the workshops. As a part of awareness campaign poster and brusher will be developed and distributed among community and schools to highlight the importance of musk deer and its habitat.

A workshop will be arranged towards the end of project to develop participatory action plan for musk deer conservation. Participants would include representatives of local community and community organizations, local NGOs and officials of wildlife department. Winner students of art and essay competition will also be invited to participate in this activity to enhance their interest in musk deer conservation.

The community component of the project work will emphasize the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources especially the endangered species of flora and fauna in the study area.

For more information contact baseerqureshi@gmail.com

Project Update: September 2008

I have started with the conservation awareness part of my project. A detailed meeting was held on 5th September 2008 to NGO Environment Health and Energy for Development (EHED) and other community organisations for project implementation.

An awareness session has been delivered to primary school Rawta on 12th September. The village situated north to the Salkhla game reserve. School as enrolment of students aged 5 to 12 years. A session was arranged to convey the importance of wildlife, especially musk deer in the environment.

Project Update: May 2009

The conservation awareness programme is in progress. Awareness workshops were held at the community organization Salkhla on 30th December 2008 and the community organization Rawta on 21st December 2008. Similar workshops were held in the government primary school Salkhla on 25th September 2008 and the government primary school Islampura on 17th January 2009.

A conservation awareness workshop in the community of the Gail, who live on the southern side if the Salkhla Game Reserve, was also held on 5th February 2009. Awareness material in the form of posters and brochures has been printed to support the awareness campaign. During the workshops the material was distributed among the participants. A survey for the population estimate and conservation of Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) was carried out in the forest of Salkhla Game Reserve and around from 4th November 2008 to 6th December 2008. With comparison to previous studies, it has been noted that the population of Himalayan musk deer is declining.

Final Report

Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

File DownloadSize
Final Report703 KB
2nd RSG Grant Awarded

Read about Baseer's latest work with Musk Deers http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/baseer_ud_din_qureshi_0


Other Projects in: