The founder of Balafama Eco Travel & Tours built this company to share the landscapes which epitomize the meaning of the beauty in the world. He has personally visited 60% of the National Parks in the USA, the Canadian Rockies, the Swiss Alps, and the Andes in South America, etc. and came to the realization that no geographical location can surpass, or even approximate the majesty of Gilgit-Baltistan. Therefore, his focus is to promote four points while traveling on our trips: Culture, Community, Camaraderie, and foremost-protecting the Environment.
Our founder is the first conservationist from Gilgit-Baltistan to struggle to preserve the remaining population of the Himalayan Brown Bear since 1992 and was a pioneer of Deosai National Park. He dedicated many years to save the Himalayan Brown Bear and Snow Leopard. He has installed free medical health camps to the peripheral communities of Deosai National Park has given awareness presentations to the schools, colleges and communities. Our aim is to protect the endangered species and eco-systems with a major focus on Deosai National Park.
Campaign to Save Rama!
Rama is a fragile environment in Astore, Gilgit Baltistan--a treasured jewel of Pakistan. It encompasses a crystal–clear lake, an ancient glacier, remnants of an old growth forest, meadows and pasturelands of the neighboring Astore villages.
Since 2011, local authorities along with a group of local polo pony players initiated a Rama Polo Festival, which was planned to be held annually in August. Due to the highly endangered status of the delicate eco-systems there, Balafama’s founder, Abdul Haleem, initiated an “Urgent Appeal to Protect Rama from Future Polo Festivals and to Establish an Ecological Plan for Its Future Survival.” Over the years he has struggled to save Rama by writing articles for local periodicals giving presentations, holding meetings with pertinent officials/authorities, and in other important ways. Mr. Haleem wrote several articles in defense of Rama, which he sent to relevant high administrators Islamabad, community leaders, and stakeholders, including all the significant officials and institutions of GB. Those articles served to draw attention to the horrendous environmental impact that the Rama Polo Festivals of 2011 and 2017 had on this endangered region. By means of raising awareness, the intention was that the Polo Festivals would be immediately discontinued for the following years of 2018-2020. As a future component of Mr. Haleem’s campaign to save Rama, he conducted several meetings with government officials of GB and gave numerous presentations to schools and colleges. He succeeded in his attempts to make the authorities realize that the unleashed mass tourism, along with the countless vehicles and horses involved in the Polo Festivals was having a terrible and irreversible effect on Rama. He strived to make everyone see the urgent necessity of adopting environmentally friendly practices to minimize the negative impact on Rama bio-diversity.
