Even the darkest cloud can have a silver lining, in this case for falcons, writes Elias Groll:

• A prime Pakistani falcon can be worth up to $100,000, sold in the Arab world for hunting
• But this is on the black market. In 2005 the falcons were labelled an endangered species, with only 2,000 of the birds in the tribal region
• Violence has intensified since that date; the region is a battle ground, with Pakistani army offensives and CIA drone strikes.
• As the area became too dangerous for hunters and poachers, falcon populations have been recovering. By 2008 the population of falcons had quadrupled.

“The bitter irony of a brutal civil war creating significant environmental benefits is not something that has environmentalists looking to Pakistan as a model for conservation strategies. Still, the falcons are probably happy” Read more over here

Source: Foreign Policy