As reconstruction proceeds in the former FATA after decades of conflict, the way development unfolds will also shape its ecological future. New infrastructure is urgently needed after decades of underinvestment, but roads, settlements, and other developments can also increase access to forests and natural resources if environmental planning is not built into reconstruction. Research from Kurram already shows that growing accessibility, together with population growth, has contributed to forest loss. The absence of adequate water-storage mechanisms, such as dams and barrages, in this tribal belt is another significant concern. As part of the erstwhile FATA rehabilitation and merger uplift programmes, Gomal Zam Dam in South Waziristan, Raghagan Dam in Bajaur, and Gandao (Abdul Shakoor) Dam in Mohmand District are already operational. However, the Kurram-Tangi Dam in North Waziristan and the Mohmand Dam in Mohmand District are still under construction. Major hurdles have included funding delays and security issues. Mohmand Dam is particularly significant because flood control downstream is one of its intended functions. If it had been built, the damage in Charsadda, Peshawar and Nowshera during the 2010 floods might have been substantially reduced, and the destruction that the 2026 monsoon is causing in these tribal areas could also have been limited. Dams should form part of a........

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