Conservation Assessment of Plant Resources of Chakesar Valley, District Shangla, Kpk, Pakistan

Plant resource evaluation project was carried out to investigate conservation status of some important medicinal plants of Chakesar Valley, District Shangla. The valley is located in Sino Japanese region in the remote area of District Shangla, Pakistan. Conservation status of 127 plant species was evaluated through IUCN (1994-2001) criterion. Among these species 47 (37%) were endangered (E), 32 (25%) vulnerable (VU), 36 (28%) rare (R) and 12 (9%) species were infrequent (IF). The area had no nursery to grow the critically endangered species. The study confirmed that the area possessed great potential for cultivation and harvesting of economically important plant resources. It is been concluded that establishment of nurseries and botanical garden may be the best ex-situ conservation for sustainable utilization of plant resources of the area. While local community awareness and involvement to protect these national assets will be the best in-situ conservation measure.