Pakistan

C

Plants and Animals

The vegetation of Pakistan varies according to elevation and rainfall. In much of the country the natural vegetation is limited to drought-resistant grasses and stunted trees. Alpine flora grows on the higher mountain slopes. The wetter slopes are wooded; species include spruce, evergreen oak, chir or cheer pine, and a cedar known as the deodar.

Pakistan has a varied animal life. Species include deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. In the freshwater and salt-water areas, fish of many varieties are found. Marine species include herring, mackerel and sharks, as well as shellfish.

D

Environmental Concerns

Most of Pakistan’s large and rapidly growing population lives in the river valleys and plains of the eastern half of the country. Habitats there have been drastically altered, although many important wetland areas remain, including flooded lowlands and mangrove swamps along the coast. The mountainous western regions are less ecologically disturbed, although settlements and agriculture have modified those regions richest in biodiversity. Almost half of the country's 5,000 plant species are medicinal. Currently, only a small portion of the country’s land is protected in a system of ten national parks plus numerous wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. These generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals. In addition, enforcement of regulations is lax. Therefore, only about 4.8 per cent (1997) of the land is actually significantly protected.

Pakistan has always had relatively sparse forest cover because of its arid, mountainous climate. Forests cover about 26 per cent (1995) of the land, and about two-thirds of this area is reforested with trees planted since Pakistan achieved independence in 1947. Most forestland is reserved for soil conservation, and timber harvest is minimal. Agricultural output per capita has increased by about 20 per cent since 1980, although with nearly one-quarter of the arable land irrigated, soil salinization has become a major problem. Overgrazing, particularly by goats, threatens the ecological balance of many areas.

Most of Pakistan’s electricity comes from a combination of hydroelectric generation and the burning of gas and oil, much of which is imported. The country’s nuclear power plant capacity generates about 0.6 per cent of the country’s energy (1998). Most Pakistanis do not have access to potable water.

Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program. Other international environmental activities include those on biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, environmental modification, hazardous wastes, nuclear test ban, ozone layer, and ship pollution.

III

Population

The ethnic background of Pakistan’s population is extremely varied, largely because the country lies in an area that has been repeatedly invaded since earliest times. The people come from such ethnic stocks as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, Turkish, and Afghan.

A

Population Characteristics

Pakistan, a highly populated country, has a population of 169,270,620 (2007 estimate) (not including the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir), yielding an average population density of about 217 people per sq km (563 per sq mi). The birth rate in Pakistan in 2007 was 29.10 births for every 1,000 people. Average life expectancy is 63 years for men and 64.8 years for women. About 35 per cent of the people live in urban areas. There were an estimated 2.1 million refugees from Afghanistan in the country in 2004.

B

Principal Cities

Pakistan’s largest city and commercial and industrial centre is Karachi, with a population of 9,269,265 (1998). Other significant urban centres, with their populations, are Lahore, 5,063,499 (1998), an industrial centre; Faisalabad, 1,977,246 (1998), a centre of the cotton industry; Rawalpindi, 1,406,214 (1998), an industrial and military centre; Hyderabad, 1,151,274 (1998), an agricultural and manufacturing centre; Multan, 1,182,441 (1998); and Peshawar, 988,005 (1998), the hub of trade with Afghanistan. Islamabad, 524,500 (1998), is the federal capital of Pakistan. Pakistan has four provinces—North-West Frontier, Baluchistan, Punjab, and Sind—plus the Federal Capital Territory of Islamabad and federally administered tribal areas.