Ukanar
Ukanar | |
|---|---|
Province | |
| Province of Ukanar | |
| Motto(s): "meShabil aluKhayas mePramnas weluFitar" (Packilvanian) "The desert people march onwards" | |
 Map of Ukanar | |
| Capital city | Abdeker |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unitary semi-absolute monarchy |
| • Governor | Prince Mubeel a-Dimsan Bedon |
| • Premier | Dr. Emal Iqasar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 212,456 km2 (82,030 sq mi) |
| • Water | 521 km2 (201 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 94 million |
| Demonym | Ukanarian |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (Eastern Packilvanian Time) |
| GDP | 732 billion KRB |
| GDP per capita | 7,737 KRB |
Ukanar is the smallest and westernmost of the provinces of Packilvania. It borders Shakar to the north and Kharyat to the east. It has a coastline on the Packilvanian Ocean. It spans an area of over 200,000 square kilometers which includes deserts, semi arid regions and savanna. Although it has relatively poor canopy cover, it contains biodiversity hotspots that include large herbivarous and carnivorous land mammals. The largest body of water is Lake Kaliwad, which alone makes up 2% of the surface area of the province.
Ukanar was formally founded in 1740 from the amalgamation of the Southwest Packilvanian Territory with the Principality of Kaliwad and the Principality of Abdeker by the Demirite dynasty during the reign of Sultana Zerah Demir I to consolidate the administration of the western reaches of the Packilvanian Empire with full provincial status being granted in 1762 by Sultan Saidun II. The province was taken by the Packilvanian Communist Party on 19 September 1914 during the First Packilvanian Civil War whereby the Governor of Abdeker signed articles of surrender. The province was administered by Communist party secretaries until 1985. It was a major launching ground by the People's Liberation Army into Shakar following declaration by the Carriers of Mercy to being the legitimate government of Packilvania.
It has the second smallest GDP and second lowest GDP per capita in Packilvania. Nevertheless, it is a major producer of animal products, and low cost manufactured goods. Its economy has a subtantial informal market and is highly decentralised with the government comprising less than 20% thereof. Pollution and deforestation from the aggressive industrialisation policies has adversely affected public health and contributed to various developmental challenges. Nevertheless, the province is a source of ancient architecture and art whose legacy includes famous artists that contributed to modern art movements.
History
Geography
Most of the interior of Ukanar is dominated by semi arid and arid hot regions with the north being dominated by hot desert. The province suffers from dust storms in the Harmattan season that together with the significant air pollution in Ukanar caused by the manufacturing sector and seasonal crop burning results in very dark skies compared to most of the world. The south consists of savanna, enjoying relatively high precipitation. Most of the farming takes place here, however much of the thickets and forests have been replaced by agricultural land. The province is heavily reliant on rain and groundwater, with aquafirs and dams at critical levels. Attempts at reforestation to resist desert encroachment and preserve existing savanna are currently underway, with 200 million trees planted.
Ukanar is the smallest province in Packilvania. As other Provinces in the south of the country. It possesses a high rate of biodiversity. This includes being home to large herbivores such as the Packilvanian elephant, Packilvanian western rhinoceros, hippopotamus, Sickle-horned antelope, the Great curly horned antelope, the Southern leaping antelope, the Lesser curly-horned antelope, the Greater curly-horned antelope, and the Southern spear-horned antelope. The province is also home to famous predators such as the lion, wild dog, spotted hyena, brown hyena, tawny desert wolf, black-backed desert wolf, and the side striped desert wolf. The province, especially its savanna, is home to birds such as the Great red hornbill, Hammerhead hornbill, the Central Yasterian tawny hoopoe, the Southern Yasterian wood hoopoe, and the Grey ostrich. The province's coastal waters are a site of migration for during the birthing season for mammals such as the Packilvanian Ocean silver porpoise.
Politics
The Governor of Ukanar is His Imperial Highness, Prince Mubeel a-Dimsan Bedon. He was appointed by the Sultan of Packilvania, Thumim V, in January, 2023. He has the power to appoint the Premier, currently Dr. Emal Iqasar, and the Provincial Council of Ministers, which is the highest body of the provincial executive branch. It deliberates and decides on important governance issues, and approves proposals for new legislation proposed by its members, the Provincial Ministers, within the remit of their portfolios. Each member helms a department that implements laws, policies and government programs.
The Governor and the Provincial Legislature comprise the legislative branch. The Governor has the power to grant or withhold royal assent to legislation passed by the Provincial Legislature. The Provincial Legislature consists of the Legislative Council which is composed of 300 members, of whom 250 are selected by municipal governments by population, and fhe remaining 50 consist of delegates from constituencies such as the Magisterium of Paxism and minority religions in Packilvania, chambers of commerce, trade unions, professional associations, universities, associations of legal professionals, delegates of state owned companies and law enforcement bodies. The body passes most laws while the lotterial 500 member Consultative Assembly meets once a year to adopt important legislation such as the annual budget.
The High Court is helmed by Judge President Prince Jabal a-Jibrael Bedon and consists of 64 judges who sit in 4 divisions. It is the highest court of the judiciary of Packilvania in Ukanar, however cases can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Packilvania. The Provincial Procuratorate investigates and presents legal cases while the Ukanar Department of Public Safety enforces the law. Responsibility for public decency and morality as per the canon law of Paxism is enforced by the Ukanar Department of Public Decency and Social Piety except in designated minority districts such as Akuanist districts.
Economy
Ukanar has a nominal GDP of 732 billion Kiribs, making it the 8th largest provincial economy in Packilvania. The teriary sector makes up 48% of the economy, the secondary sector makes up 42%, and the primary sector comprises 10%. The secondary sector employs 46% of the labour force, while the tertiary sector employs 34% of the labour force and the primary sector employs 20%. The unemployment rate is at 3% of the population and over 30% of the labour force is employed in the informal economy which comprises 45% of the economy.
The province generates 160 billion Kiribs in revenue for the government of Packilvania, of which 102 billion kiribs is raised by and goes directly to the provincial government through various provincial taxes, while the remaining 18 billion goes to the national government. The national governmet disburses 24 billion Kiribs to the Ukanar provincial government to run the province. The province has highly productive agricultural land that produces mainly sugar, rice, beets, legumes, and other crops. This has however caused significant deforestation. The province has one of the largest dairy and meat industries in the country relative to its size but suffers from overgrazing. The manufacturing sector produces garments, low level electronics, and consumer goods, but regulations on pollution are lax resulting in high rates of air particulates.
The services sector comprises government services, financial services, telecommunications, education, healthcare etc. The province exports 200 billion Kiribs of goods and imports over 197.6 billion Kiribs of goods. 78% are exported to the rest of Packilvania, while the remaining 32% are exported to Volkia, the Free Pax States, the United Nations of the Auroran Continent, the North Concordian Economic Forum and the League of Novaris. The province has a GDP per capital of 7,787 kiribs and a median monthly income of 3,500 kiribs. Inequality is fairly high with the urban areas such as Derengol, Paragriniya and Kaliwad enjoying relatively high average incomes.
Demographics
Culture
The visual arts in Ukanar have been used for self expression and social commentary for thousands of years, with cave paintings by the iron-age Dama civilisation being among the first known works of art with rhe oldest estimated at 10,000 years old. The Kaliwad kingdom that ruled rhe area surrounding Lake Kaliwad in 2,000 BCE, is famous for its realistic stone sculptures such as the Fumadeen stone icons that depict various deities such as Mansawud. In reign of the Paxist dynasties, depictions of real subjects in art became increasingly relegated to commoner art, with calligraphy taking increasing prominence among academic and upper class circles. In the 20th century, Ukanar was home to famous artists such as Bansoon Arkhaneed who were the progenitors of Communist expressivism, a school of art based on caricatures of capitalist ideologies.
Ukanar's architectural heritage spans millenia, with ruins of stone carved temples and dwellings being the remnants of highly sophisticated civilisations that existed thousands of years ago. In the 1940s, Khanad Balaal-Shanadoon was a leading figure in Communist brutalism which shaped many public spaces through its sparse decorations, focusing on the domineering presence of the physical form. This is juxtaposed with a highly ornamental legacy that has characterised many of the palaces, temples and castles in Ukanar especially during the reign of and inspired by High King Baloo, whose public works saw beautiful edifices such as the Balovian Imperial Palace dominate public spaces in the cities.