KARACHI, June 29: More than 150,000 people living along Sindh and Balochistan coasts consume 36,000 tonnes of mangroves per month as firewood, while 160,000 camels, 4,000 cows and 6,000 water buffaloes, besides 3,000 other cattle heads are fed on mangroves.

Due to over exploitation and pollution, pearl oyster, lingula and some of the fish species have disappeared form these coastal areas, environment experts in their presentations at a seminar held on Tuesday said.

The seminar, covering the existing and possible future threats to seas and oceans was jointly organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-Pakistan), United Nations' Information Centre (UNIC), Islamabad, and the National Institute of Oceanography.

Director, IUCN's Coastal Ecosystem Programme, M. Tahir Qureshi spoke on rehabilitation of mangroves in the Indus Delta and threats to fishing sector. He noted that short supply of fresh water to the Indus delta was the main cause of diminishing mangroves.

Referring to the data collected by Sindh Irrigation and Power department, he said during 1980-92, 150 maf water discharged downstream Kotri Barrage, with a silt load of 400 millions a year.

While from 1992 onwards, he said, only 10 maf water was the agreed volume being discharged downstream Kotri and the silt load was 30 million tonnes. About marine pollution, he said that 104 million gallons of municipal waste and 157 million gallons of industrial waste entered the country's coast every day, while oil pollution amounted to 1.5 million tonnes per year.

Besides local laws, including the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, Port Act 1905 and Factories Act 1934, Pakistan was a signatory to international conventions relating to the sea, however the implementation of these laws and commitments was required to achieve the results.

The said international conventions suggested the oil pollution preparedness, response and cooperation control of trans-boundary movement and hazardous waste and other disposal.

He said due to short flow of fresh water into the sea and depletion of mangroves, sandy tracks/desertification had emerged in the Indus delta, and sea intrusion was increasing.

He said the IUCN-Pakistan had initiated various projects to rehabilitate the mangroves at Sindh and Balochistan coasts. These include re-plantation and assisted natural re-generation; mangrove management and replanting with participation of coastal communities; formation of groups comprising users of natural resources and tree lovers; preparation of outreach materials on community forestry; and annual training course for in-service forest officers.

"Through innovative methods, so far we have rehabilitated more than 16,000 acres of mangroves at various points," he said. He said the IUCN had also re-introduced species of mangroves, which had diminished from here.

He also briefed about various activities carried by the IUCN-Pakistan for sustainable fisheries management. Head of the Aquatic Ecosystem Programme, IUCN-Pakistan, Dr Najam Khursheed spoke on aquatic ecosystem, including aquatic biodiversity, fresh water ecosystem and marine ecosystem.

He listed major threats to the marine biodiversity that included invasive species, lack of information, habitat loss and degradation, over-fishing , aquaculture, land-based and sea-generated pollution, climate change, oil exploration activities, alternation to hydrology, coastal developmental activities and dredging.

While the major challenges in conservation of marine ecosystems were: weak economic incentives, economic inequity i.e. acknowledging individual and communal rights and responsibilities; inadequate financial resources, human capacity and information; poorly planned development and conservation activities; weak and inappropriate institutions, policies and legal frameworks; public perceptions and attitudes towards marine ecosystems; inter- dependencies between marine ecosystems and river basins, and trans-boundary coastal/marine ecosystem.

Director, United Nations Information Centre, Islamabad, Tetsuo Maximilian Ohna, called upon the government, businessmen, NGOs and other people involved in preservation and upgrade of nature to extend their full cooperation to the UNIC.

He lauded the role of the IUCN-Pakistan for initiating various projects to achieve this end. Later, he visited the coastal areas, where the IUCN-Pakistan had rehabilitated the mangroves and also carried new plantation with participation of the local communities.

Mrs Ghazala Rubab Aftab, Director, Environment department, DHA, said oil spills, coastal operations, industrialization, urbanization, recreational activities, polluted river drains and untreated sewage disposal amongst the causes of marine pollution.

She depicted socio-economic impact of the Tasman Spirit spill on coastal communities by slides. However, she noted that coastal operations were causing more damage to the marine resources and ecosystem than oil spills as they occur occasionally.

She said integrated coastal zone management, collection of pertinent data in coastal areas, attitude of coastal communities, population control, land utilization patterns, health and environmental programmes were the issues to be given due importance and dealt with seriously, adding that population control was the most important aspect in this regard.

She said more serious efforts should be made for rehabilitation of the coastal communities, who were faced with many social and economic problems. She highlighted the activities of the DHA's environment department to create awareness about environmental threats and its conservation, and for upgrade of nature, specially amongst the school children through brochures. - APP