I personally and professionally, with the intention of developing Pakistani parks, have visited more than 33 national parks, quite a number of conservation centers, zoos/wildlife breeding centers and many recreational areas in the USA, Canada and Mexico. My investigations include the world’s first national park in Yellowstone, U.S.A. and many others:

• Banff National Park, Canada
• Denali National Park Alaska, USA
• Glacier National Park, USA and Canada
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
• Haleakala and Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
• “La Bufadora” National Park, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
• The Yukon Territory National Park, Canada
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
• Yosemite National Park, California, USA
• Watertown National Park, Canada

I am impressed by the management, conservation strategies, eco-tourist planning and uplifting of the communities’ policies. During my conversations with most of the concerned authorities at the above mentioned parks, their incredible dedication and enthusiasm impressed me. I would say they are totally committed to their work--it is their life’s passion.
In several of the Canadian parks, the tourist campgrounds were surrounded and enclosed by electric fences, which I thought was to protect the tourists from the threat of bears. However, when I spoke with the park officials, they told me that the fences had been designed to protect the bears from people. This is due to the fact that campers leave exposed food and ice chests in their camps, so the bears become habituated, leading to the eventual death of the animals. In virtually all of the national parks and Canada that I visited, there is extensive propaganda and education to save the bears. The slogan is “keep a bare campground. “ The word “bare” means “empty” (no visible food, lockers ice chests, etc.) This is a play on words with the meaning of “bear” the animal, as both words are pronounced the same. Tourists receive this motto on handouts when they enter the park and on signboards everywhere, even in the bathrooms.
At some parks, the wildlife guards patrol all night to take care of the tourists as well as the wildlife. For example, their policy includes limiting the speed of all vehicles in the park and issuing citations to those drivers who do not obey the speed limits.
These procedures are highly commendable. However, at the same time I am extremely concerned, because in comparison to those nations, Pakistan possesses some of the rarest species of wildlife in the world, but they are critically endangered. As a consequence of my visit to parks in other places in the world, I became aware that we must improve our Pakistani jewel of a park, Deosai National Park, through improved wildlife management and conservation strategies, while encouraging eco-tourism.