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Paper short abstract

Thinking political ecologies of restoration in Pakistan's capital Islamabad through settler-colonial theory, I investigate in which ways the politicized vocabulary of indigeneity is appropriated by different actors to multiple species to negotiate polarizing visions of Islamabad's future.

Paper long abstract

The Margallah Hills, a chain of the lower Himalayas that is thickly forested with both conifers and semi-deciduous subtropical forest, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, are intertwined components of an urban frontier. Islamabad was constructed in the 1960s on “wastelands” by displacing indigenous villagers. Subject to technocratic-scientific administration, the former British herding grounds of the Margallah Hills were restored through introduced seeds, and the declaration of a National Park in 1979.

Polarizing conflicts between different societal sections over the park's future meander between “development” and “protection”: the indigenous population seeks to use forest resources for sustenance, while government institutions, armed forces and entrepreneurs aim to grab land for entertainment, tourism, and real estate development. In 2017, the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board was created to restore and rewild the national park. Reflecting transnational “planetary consciousness”, it is informed by urban environmental activism that emphasizes care for the multiple species living in capital territory, among others for the leopard, a recently “discovered” signature species.

This presentation critically debates political ecologies of restoration by through the lens of settler-colonial theory. In Islamabad, bureaucratic planning and environmental activism are infused with settler-colonial elements constructing the Margallah Hills as a biodiversity hotspot that is commoditized for nature enjoyment and as a carbon sink, while disregarding the rights of the indigenous population to land and livelihood. Here, the politicized vocabulary of indigeneity, and the contentious dichotomy between "invasive" and "indigenous" species, is appropriated by different actors in order to negotiate conflicting visions of Islamabad’s future.