Pre-Session Individual Assignment

Group 1:

What socio-economic and political, at the Global level and then at the Pakistan level, factors do you think will help in achieving the targets set by the Millennium Development Goals within the time period specified? What are the factors that might delay the achievement of those targets? Why? 

Group 2:

There is a lot of discussion on biodiversity loss these days and one of the solutions proposed is to give local communities a stake in the preservation of biodiversity. Please highlight and discuss various ways this can be achieved in Pakistan in general and the NWFP in particular. Give one or two examples of successful projects in this regard.

Some Background Reading:

National Geographic 1999. Biodiversity: The Fragile Web. Vol. 195(2)

Wilson, E.O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. Allen Lane. London.

Wood, A. et. al. (eds) 2000. The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss. Earthscan, London.

Group 3:

Desertification has become a major issue in some parts of Pakistan. Briefly evaluate the government’s response to it (policy and implementation both). What improvements, if any, are needed in this response? 

Background Reading:

Land Degradation, Ecologist, September 2002. p. 7.

Many other sources on the Web