ISLAMABAD: Sudhnoti, one of the largest forestcovered areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, remains highly vulnerable to perils of climate change, and to mitigate effects of disasters in the region, the Food and Agriculture Organisation is completing a project funded by the Italian government.

With the objective to conduct vulnerability assessments of natural resources in mountain regions of selected districts in Pakistan, the FAO is progressively completing the project which is part of a regional technical project being implemented in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro and Pakistan.

The expected outcome is identification of vulnerable areas and contextspecific interventions that can help build community resilience, improve livelihoods, address water scarcity, and promote sustainable development.

According to FAO officials, despite its rich forest resources, Sudhnotifaces significant environmental challenges, including deforestation due to urbanisation and reliance on forest wood for domestic fuel, soil erosion caused by droughts and floods, and increasing water scarcity that threatens sustainable agricultural growth.

Sudhnoti district remains underdeveloped despite its significant natural wealth. The area lies within the subtropical Chir pine zone along with some stretches of subtropical evergreen forests across the foothills of the Himalayas adjacent to River Jhelum.

The district also hosts a wide variety of tree species including chir pine, oak (quercus), acacia, blue pine, planted deodar etc.

Other commonly found species include poplar, eucalyptus, wild olives, amaltas, and dodonaea.

-Amin Ahmed