Establishing 'Wildlife Conservation Centre' imparts hope for Islamabad Zoo's revival.

ISLAMABAD -- The Islamabad Zoo has finally received an allocation of Rs 500 million to resurrect a "most-modern" 'Wildlife Conservation and Information Centre'. The said amount is being earmarked for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2022-23).

The present government was very keen on reviving the Islamabad Zoo as a constructive wildlife rehabilitation facility and a wild species learning centre where experts, students and the general public could learn more about the indigenous species of the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).

The National Park has become a repository of the endangered common Asian leopards and pangolins, the most trafficked anteater, Chairperson, of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Rina Saeed Khan told reporter while sharing her insights on the issue.

She added that the Zoo was made non-operational after the judgement of former Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah due to poor management of the wildlife including the Asian Male Elephant Kaavan.

Khan said the blueprint for the Wildlife Centre was ready, designed by famous architect Raza Ali Dada who had created the conceptual design of the Centre.

She noted that the major issue of land was resolved as the 25-acre piece of land was given to the IWMB by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the no objection certificate (NOC) was issued. "All codal formalities have been met and only the federal cabinet's ratification is left which will be fulfilled soon," she added.

The initial concept paper or PC-I was submitted and the nomenclature for the institution was proposed as "Margalla Wildlife Centre", the Chairperson said.

Rina Saeed Khan informed that many international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working on wildlife protection such as 'Free...