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Short-term Land Acquisition, Long-term Impacts: The Case of Houbara Bustard Hunting in South Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan provides seasonal hunting permits to the rulers of Gulf countries for hunting of Asian Houbara bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) in different parts of the country. This research deals with (transnational) seasonal land acquisition of different rangelands/deserts of the Punjab province of Pakistan. So far, no comprehensive research has been conducted in Pakistan on this issue. This research attempts to address the impact of seasonal land grabbing by the foreigners on livelihood assets of local stakeholders in South Punjab, Pakistan. Based on the idea of ‘control grabbing’, this research uses ‘sustainable livelihood framework’ as an analytical framework. Quantitative and qualitative data were acquired from three (out of a total nine) randomly selected hunting sanctuaries in the districts of Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. The results revealed that natural assets of local population (agricultural land and rangeland) are adversely affected during the entire hunting season. Limited access to natural assets (especially livestock fodder) has long-term negative impacts on livelihood diversification of the locals as the number of livestock – one of the most important assets of respondents – is continuously decreasing in the case study area. We recommend that land enclosure should be restricted to a limited area for a limited time, and that the Government should develop an effective monitoring and evaluation system.