Animal and plant communities: Biodiversity, environmental conservation and management

The Indus is one of the oldest and longest rivers of the world. It is especially important for an agricultural country like Pakistan. It courses through a varied landscape, constituting at least four distinct ecological zones as Alpine, Temperate Forest, Subtropical Forest and Tropical Forest. All these zones have been and to a large extent still are quite rich in fauna and flora. However, deteriorating environmental conditions and poor management policies are rapidly destroying the habitats nurtured by this river. It is feared that if the existing environmental degradation and poor management policies are not re-evaluated and checked, an irreparable damage is likely to occur to the biodiversity sustained by the river.