Taking a Landscape Approach in the Jhelum-Poonch River Basin

Located in Pakistan, the Gulpur Hydropower Project has carried out an action plan to protect biodiversity in the Poonch River. Guided by IFC’s Performance Standard 6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources, the hydropower project aims to achieve net-gain for two endemic fish species in the area through protection measures and the construction of fish hatcheries. Through stakeholder engagement, the public and private sectors are working together to scale up the biodiversity action plan to a Jhelum-Poonch Biodiversity Strategy.

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The major problem is that these dams are being constructed in a region that is legally and constitutionally speaking, not even in Pakistan. They are also being constructed without a formal agreement between the government of AJK and without public consultation.