Islamabad: The first rays of sunlight have barely filtered through the pine-covered slopes of Margalla Hills National Park when a familiar figure appears on Trail 5.
Unlike the hundreds of hikers arriving with trekking poles, cameras and water bottles, Mansoor Sherwani carries an oversized blue sack, a pair of heavy-duty gloves and a quiet determination.
Every discarded plastic bottle, food wrapper and aluminium can lying beside the trail catches his attention. Within minutes, the bag begins to fill.
For Sherwani, this has become a ritual repeated week after week for nearly five years.
By the time most hikers are beginning their descent, he is still climbing-often scrambling down steep embankments to retrieve rubbish that has rolled into ravines beyond the reach of ordinary visitors.
His work has earned him an unusual identity.
Known across Islamabad simply as the “Awareness Man, ” Sherwani has become one of the capital’s most recognisable environmental volunteers. The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has acknowledged his contribution by conferring on him titles including “Man of Awareness” and “Leopard of Margalla Hills National Park”-recognition symbolising his tireless commitment to protecting the park’s fragile ecosystem.
Yet Sherwani is quick to dismiss the attention.
“I am not doing this for recognition, ” he says. “This national park belongs to every Pakistani. If we cannot protect what nature has given us, who will?”
His answer reflects a growing question confronting Pakistan’s environmental future.
As cities expand, visitor numbers increase and climate pressures intensify, can citizen volunteers help protect ecosystems that government institutions alone struggle to manage?
The answer may lie among the forests overlooking Islamabad.
A National Park Unlike Any Other
Stretching across approximately 17, 000 hectares along the northern edge of the capital, Margalla Hills National Park occupies a unique place in Pakistan’s natural heritage.
It is one of the few national parks in the world located immediately beside a national capital, serving simultaneously as a recreational destination, a biodiversity hotspot and an ecological buffer for a rapidly growing city. Part of the Himalayan foothill ecosystem, the park provides vital ecosystem services by recharging groundwater, moderating temperatures, storing carbon and improving Islamabad’s air quality at a time when climate change and urbanisation are placing increasing pressure on natural landscapes.
Its forests support a remarkable range of wildlife, including barking deer, wild boar, porcupines, more than 200 bird species and the elusive Common Asian Leopard, making it one of Pakistan’s most significant urban wildlife habitats.
Popularity, however, has brought pressure.
According to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, an estimated 900, 000 visitors use the park’s designated hiking trails every year. The figure excludes traffic along the Daman-e-Koh road and highlights the enormous recreational pressure placed on one of Pakistan’s most valuable protected areas.
Margalla Hills National Park has seven designated hiking trails. However, Trail 6 was declared a Leopard Preservation Zone in 2022 and remains closed to the general public, with access permitted only through guided visits under specific conditions. Although several village paths pass through the hills, IWMB says these are not part of the park’s officially designated trail system.
Every weekend, thousands of visitors arrive seeking fresh air and panoramic views of the capital.
For conservationists, however, those same crowds present one of the park’s greatest challenges.
Plastic waste, off-trail hiking, feeding wildlife, noise pollution and increasing human disturbance continue to threaten habitats that have evolved over centuries.
One Bag at a Time
Sherwani never intended to become a public figure.
He says his journey began around 2021 with a simple decision to carry an empty bag whenever he visited the hills.
Instead of walking past litter left by others, he began collecting it.
One visit became another.
Soon, the routine evolved into a weekly commitment.
Today, Saturdays and Sundays are devoted almost entirely to the national park, while another day each week is often spent accompanying student groups or participating in awareness activities.
Standing beside the large blue sack he carries down the mountain, Sherwani explains that appearances can be deceptive.
“People see one bag, ” he says with a smile. “But if I divide it into ordinary garbage bags, it becomes six. ”
Over nearly five years, he estimates that he has personally removed more than three tonnes of litter from the national park.
The work, he says, is physically demanding.
Plastic bottles often roll deep into rocky slopes.
Food wrappers become trapped beneath bushes.
Sometimes he spends several minutes climbing into dangerous terrain simply to retrieve a handful of discarded waste.
“It isn’t only about cleaning, ” he says. “It is about sending a message that someone cares. ”
His volunteer work extends well beyond litter collection.
On weekends, Sherwani estimates he speaks with between 5, 000 and 6, 000 visitors, including families, schoolchildren, university students and hiking groups.
Rather than confronting people for breaking park rules, he begins conversations.
He explains that Margalla Hills is not an ordinary public park but a protected national park with its own ecological responsibilities.
Visitors, he tells them, should remain on designated trails, avoid feeding monkeys or other wildlife, refrain from smoking, carry back their waste and respect the silence of the forest.
Some stop to listen.
Others apologise after being reminded.
Many ask questions.
For Sherwani, each conversation represents another opportunity to build what he calls “a culture of awareness. ”
Changing Behaviour, Not Just Cleaning Trails
For Sherwani, the litter he carries down the mountain is only the visible symptom of a much larger challenge.
“The real work is changing people’s thinking, ” he says. “If people understand why this national park matters, they will stop throwing rubbish themselves. Awareness spreads from one person to another. ”
He believes that change, although gradual, is becoming visible.
“When I started, we used to collect several bags of litter from almost every kilometre of the trail, ” he recalls. “Now I usually carry one large bag, though it is still a lot of waste. More people are helping. Students join clean-up drives, hikers collect litter themselves and many content creators are also encouraging people to keep the hills clean. ”
“What gives me satisfaction is seeing people come back and tell me they no longer throw rubbish or that they now carry a small bag to collect litter during their hikes, ” he says.
Official estimates reinforce the scale of the challenge. According to IWMB, clean-up exercises conducted jointly by staff and volunteers remove an average of about 25 kilograms of litter every week from the designated hiking trails-roughly 100 kilograms every month or 1. 2 tonnes annually. The figure excludes waste collected separately from roads such as Daman-e-Koh with the assistance of sanitation authorities.
Conservation Beyond One Volunteer
Conservationist Sakhawat Ali, who has long been associated with environmental awareness and biodiversity conservation in Margalla Hills National Park, believes volunteers such as Sherwani have become an important complement to institutional conservation efforts.
“Mansoor started working with the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board as a volunteer, ” Ali says. “Today, particularly on Trails 3 and 5, he regularly provides awareness services free of cost. He educates visitors about the importance of the national park and has played a positive role in promoting conservation. ”
Ali notes that Sherwani’s efforts are supported by a broader network of volunteers, including the Friends of Margalla Hills National Park, alongside the IWMB’s Information and Outreach team, which regularly organises educational campaigns.
“Environmental conservation is never the work of one individual, ” he says. “It succeeds when institutions, volunteers and the public work together. ”
Alongside volunteer initiatives, the IWMB itself conducts at least one environmental awareness session every week, primarily for schoolchildren, amounting to approximately 55 to 60 awareness programmes each year aimed at promoting responsible tourism and biodiversity conservation.
For Ali, the biggest conservation challenge extends far beyond litter.
“The foremost challenge is protecting Margalla Hills National Park itself, ” he says. “We have to safeguard its boundaries and preserve its biodiversity. ”
He identifies encroachment as one of the park’s most persistent threats.
Illegal hunting, he says, has been significantly reduced through improved management and enforcement, but other pressures continue to grow.
“Many visitors leave the designated trails and walk deep into the forest, ” he explains. “Those interior areas are natural habitats for wildlife. When people enter them unnecessarily, they disturb animals in places where they should feel secure. ”
He says keeping visitors on marked trails is among the simplest yet most effective ways to reduce human disturbance.
One issue that has become increasingly visible is the feeding of monkeys.
Visitors frequently carry snacks while hiking and often offer food to the animals in the hope of getting closer photographs.
“When monkeys begin depending on humans for food, they lose their natural behaviour, ” Ali says. “Eventually they associate every visitor carrying food with a meal, which is why incidents involving aggressive monkeys have increased. ”
“The best way to protect wildlife, ” he adds, “is to let wildlife remain wild. ”
Voices from the Trail
Among the hikers stopping to speak with Sherwani is Sawaira, a university student visiting Trail 5 with friends.
She says she had previously regarded litter collection as the responsibility of municipal authorities.
“Watching one person voluntarily carry heavy bags of rubbish down the mountain changed my thinking, ” she says. “Now whenever I come here, I carry my own waste back and if I see plastic bottles or wrappers on the trail, I pick them up. Small actions really do matter. ”
Nearby, regular hiker Ikram says Sherwani’s presence has become almost as familiar as the trail itself.
“I’ve seen him here in every season, ” he says. “Whether it’s hot, cold or raining, he’s working. ”
Ikram believes Sherwani’s greatest contribution is not the rubbish he removes but the conversations he has with visitors.
“People listen because he speaks politely, ” he says. “Instead of blaming anyone, he explains why these hills are important. That leaves a stronger impression. ”
Can volunteers save the Park?
Both Sherwani and Ali answer the question with an emphatic no.
Sherwani says volunteers can support conservation but cannot substitute for trained professionals.
“There is a shortage of manpower, ” he says. “That is why volunteers become important. We help because we care, but national parks also need more rangers, field staff and environmental educators. ”
Ali agrees.
Currently, 26 rangers-including 20 regular staff members supported by contingent personnel-are responsible for managing the national park across four operational ranges: Bhara Kahu, Nurpur, Saidpur and Golra. Rangers oversee wildlife protection, patrol sensitive habitats and remain deployed at trailheads to guide visitors and enforce regulations.
Ali says the government has also advanced plans to strengthen conservation infrastructure through a PC-1 project aimed at upgrading Margalla Hills National Park to international standards.
According to him, the proposal has already received approval at the relevant level and is expected to proceed through the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) process.
“The objective is to improve conservation standards, visitor management and facilities while protecting biodiversity, ” he says.
He argues that long-term success will depend on sustained public investment, stronger enforcement and continued environmental education.
“The future of this national park cannot depend only on volunteers, ” Ali says. “It requires institutions that are adequately staffed and properly resourced. ”
A Shared Responsibility
As the afternoon sun softens over the Margalla Hills, Sherwani shoulders another heavy sack filled with discarded plastic and begins the long walk back down the trail.
Tomorrow, he knows, there will probably be more litter waiting.
Yet he remains optimistic.
“The day people stop leaving rubbish behind, ” he says quietly, “will be the day my work is no longer needed. ”
With nearly 900, 000 people using the park’s designated trails every year, a ranger force of just 26 personnel and volunteers helping bridge the gap between visitors and conservation authorities, Margalla Hills National Park reflects both the opportunities and the limitations of community-led conservation.
The future of the park will not be determined by one volunteer, one government agency or one awareness campaign alone. It will depend on whether thousands of visitors choose to see themselves not merely as hikers passing through the landscape, but as custodians of one of Pakistan’s most precious natural treasures.
In that sense, every plastic bottle picked up, every child taught to respect wildlife and every visitor persuaded to stay on the trail becomes part of a larger story-one in which conservation begins not with policy alone, but with personal responsibility.
