Dashkin Explained

35.4833°N 120°WDashkin is a village in Astore, Pakistan. It is 85 km from Gilgit, the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. It has over 5,000 inhabitants, primarily farmers and herdsmen.

The area is rich in gemstones and is home to a number of rare species of wildlife, such as the Astor markhor (a species of ibex) and the snow leopard.^[1] Dofana Mountain and several forests are nearby.^[2] Hunting permits are available.^[3]

In 2003, the International Union of Nature Conservation launched a pilot to test the concept of community-based forest management in the Dashkin–_Mushkin–Tarbuling Forest as part of the Mountain Areas Conservancy Project, an initiative aimed at sustaining biodiversity in Karakoram-Hindu Kush in the western Himalayan mountains in northern Pakistan.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Notes and References

1. https://www.huntsmanhome.com/pakistan/; https://issuu.com/nazishmunir/docs/conservation_chronicles_2020; Sheraz Taimouri https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/web-documents/10529_BD_PIF_v1.pdf
2. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2003-095_6.pdf
3. http://www.wilddocu.de/flare-horned-markhor-capra-falconeri-falconeri/; https://www.huntsmanhome.com/pakistan/
4. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/nasoed.pdf
5. Web site: Northern areas: State of Environment and Development Plan. 12 May 2016.
6. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2003-095_6.pdf
7. Web site: Mountain Areas Conservancy Project (MACP).