I earned the degree of Masters in Environmental Sciences from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan in 2005. In addition, I have successfully completed a three months Certificate Course in Wildlife Management from the reputed Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, in 2008, and awarded an honour certificate for the best foreign student.

After joining World Wide Fund for Nature, Pakistan (WWF-P) in 2005, I worked as an Income Generation Officer for the Snow Leopard Conservation Project, in Chitral funded by International Snow Leopard Trust and Social Mobiliser for the Protected Areas Management Project, Machiara National Park, in Muzaffarabad (AJ&K). Currently I am associated as a WWF Pakistan team member with the Ministry of Environment’s Pakistan Wetlands Programme (PWP) as Wetlands Conservation Biologist.

I started working on freshwater turtles of Pakistan in 2007 when I was assigned a task to explore illegal turtle trade in Pakistan. I am happy to share that the Government of Pakistan amended its Provincial Wildlife Acts to include freshwater turtles in the category of Protected Animals after this illegal turtle trade issue was highlighted at national and international level by the PWP, through its well targeted awareness campaign and extensive field surveys.

Pakistanis blessed with a spectrum of biodiversity including eight species of freshwater turtles. Illegal trade in body parts has affected three species of softshell turtles including the Aspideretes gangeticus, Aspideretes hurum and Chitra indica.

It is a great pleasure for me to be selected as an Asian Scholar-2009 by the Asian Scholarship Programme for in-situ Chelonian Conservation (ASPin-situCC). I would like to implement advanced techniques in turtle conservation and management in my country that I have been learning here through this professional training programme and as a member of well reputed team of professionals. Click on the following links to learn about my experiences with ASPin-situCC.

1. Experiences at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center
2. Wetlands Institute
3. Presentations at the Annual Symposium on Biology and Conservation of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises
4. Chelonian Research Institute
5. Behler Chelonian Conservation Center
6. Excursions

My goal is to conserve these precious species of freshwater turtles through community based conservation initiatives, lobbying government agencies at national and international level, targeted awareness campaign and training of officers posted at international gateways. I am also planning to pursue for a Ph. D. degree as soon as I get the opportunity.

Publications
Survey reports on illegal trade in freshwater turtles of Pakistan

1. Illegal Trade in Freshwater Turtle Parts (PDF)
   Preliminary findings of turtle trade in major barrages and head-works of Punjab, February 2008
2. Freshwater Turtle of Pakistan (PDF)
   Taunsa (Punjab) & Guddhu (Sindh), June 2007
3. Freshwater Turtles of Pakistan (PDF)
   Dera Ismail Khan, North West Frontier Province, April 2007

Articles on illegal trade in freshwater turtles of Pakistan

1. Conservation of Freshwater turtles in Pakistan
   TRAFFIC Bulletin
   Vol.21, No. 3 (January 2008)
   http://www.traffic.org/bulletin/
2. Killing of Pakistan's Freshwater Turtles
3. Conservation Actions on Trade in Freshwater Turtles of Pakistan

Email: unoureen@wwf.org.pk