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Pakistan - Geography and Environment
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On the high plateaux, water is scarce |
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Pakistan is in south-west Asia. Its neighbours are Iran, Afghanistan,
China, and India. There are four provinces: Sindh, Punjab, North-West
Frontier Province, and Baluchistan. The federal capital is Islamabad.
Pakistan occupies a strategic position between Southern Asia and
the Middle East. Four mountain ranges meet within its boundaries:
the Karakorams, the Pamirs, the Himalayas, and the Hindu Kush.
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But other parts of Pakistan are rich and
fertile |
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The land is very varied, including deserts, mountain, forests,
and fertile plains. Pakistan experiences the most extreme temperatures
on earth, from 50°c in the Sindh region in the summer, to minus
50°c in the northern mountain ranges in the winter. Pakistan faces
great environmental challenges. Drought is a major problem in some
areas, while in others it is floods that cause damage and hardship.
The destruction of natural resources is a big problem. Pakistan
suffers especially from waterlogging
of the soil and salinity (salty water), which has destroyed
vast areas of crop-growing land and threatened the livelihoods of
hundreds of thousands of poor people who live in rural areas.
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|| Oxfam in Pakistan
Photos: Sarah Errington and Liz Clayton/Oxfam
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