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Development of Hydropower and Renewable Energy (HRE-II – Biodiversity Component)

Duration: 2021-2026

Location:   Hunza & Nagar Districts in Gilgit-Baltistan   

Donor:  Federal Republic of Germany through KfW Development Bank

 Project Description:  The Hydropower & Renewable Energy II Biodiversity (HRE-II Biodiversity) project aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation and promote sustainable livelihoods in the districts of Hunza and Nagar. The project targets seven villages — Hassanabad, Gulmit, Passu, and Khyber in Hunza, and Chalt-Chaprote and Sumayyar in Nagar — focusing on enhancing forest cover, improving community livelihoods, and reducing pressure on natural forests.

Recognising that forests are critical to livelihood security, energy needs, and environmental stability in Gilgit-Baltistan, the project supports a wide range of community-led activities. These include social mobilisation, improvement of water courses and irrigation channels, land development, plantation drives, nursery establishment, and community awareness and capacity-building initiatives. Special emphasis is placed on empowering women through income-generating activities and the promotion of non-timber forest products, alongside value chain analysis to support market access.

A unique feature of the project is its participatory land use model, under which newly irrigated barren lands are divided: 30% reserved for exclusive use by local women’s organisations, 30% dedicated to improving wildlife habitats through native tree plantations, and the remaining land allocated for agroforestry and horticulture by household heads. Through these interventions, HRE-II Biodiversity contributes to climate resilience, sustainable resource management, and the diversification of livelihood opportunities for local communities, particularly women, in one of Pakistan’s most ecologically fragile regions.

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