Central Asia Online publishes my photograph

I have happy to announce that good people inhabit Pakistan in great numbers. And some of them live outside but report on the country with their hearts attached. Here is an example of a piece written in Washington D.C by Central Asia Online, which also used my mangrove photograph for this write-up.

The article titled, 'Climate change fuels sea encroachment on Indus delta', is written by Amjad Bashir Siddiqi, whom I don't know yet and photograph is taken by me, which you can view on the top right hand corner of the article page.

Concern for fast disappearing mangroves is growing amidst cries for protection of wetland areas for the larger benefit of the country itself. The protection of flow of Indus river waters is the key to the survival of these mangroves. Already, only 2 species of the mangroves may be found where previously 8 species were to be seen.

Building of dams has had a key affect on the destruction of an ancient way of life as well as on the thousands who earn their living downstream or from mangroves by fishing in its waters. As our author points out in these words,

'“The process of sea intrusion was first witnessed in the mid-90s”, Akbar said. That was when the Arabian Sea engulfed about 1.2m acres of land, he said. Now, it seems to have expanded to almost 2m acres. “The most dangerous trend is the one happening underground”, Akbar said, adding that the sea is contaminating aquifers and making soil useless.

Wildlife is suffering too. Acacia and prosopis forests don’t thrive in salinated soil, and fishermen find prize species giving way to less desirable ones. The availability of Pallah fish (Tenualosa ilisha), a local delicacy, has shrunk markedly. '

We can only imagine the consequences of our actions today. Do we need a barren coastline with no fresh water, salted lands and infertile soil or do we wish to have a life giving water, should be our matter. And we need to solve it. Today is World Water Day and we must concentrate on using water with much more maturity than we have shown in last 62 years.

Saving the last Mangroves of Karachi

Mangroves are a wonderful being of ALLAH. They are species of plants which thrive in saline waters. Their roots grow best under fertile land and maybe found at places where deltas are formed due to discharge of river (sweet) water into sea waters (saline). They are important for survival of countless land and sea species and hundreds of thousands of men earn their livelihood through them (fishing, cutting trees, making homes, hunting, etc). Therefore, it is imperative that such wonderful and unique species are preserved for the betterment of people and environment. That’s not happening. From the lead organization:

http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=143

“In Pakistan, mangroves are found along the southern borders of the country along the coast of Sindh and Balochistan. The Indus Delta extends to an area of approximately 600,000 hectares of which 160,000 consists of mangrove forests. These are unique in the sense that they are considered to be the largest area of arid climate mangroves in the world”.

And, further:

“In the Karachi area, 135,000 people depend on the mangroves for their livelihood. For villages surrounding the forests, the mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves (Davis, 1993). In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilograms of leaves and 19.5 million kilograms of grass (Qureshi, 1992). Much of Pakistan’s fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the US$ 100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent (Davis, 1993). Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingoes and herons may be found in the Indus Delta mangroves (IUCN, 1999). Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

“Over the past 13 years, the degradation of Pakistan’s mangroves has occurred at the rate of 6 percent per annum. As a result, only 16 percent of Pakistan’s mangroves are thought to be healthy (Qureshi, 1992). The most harmful environmental stress that the mangroves face today derives largely from human activity. The steady growth of a major industrial city within the vicinity, the untreated sewage and industrial discharge, the increase in the demand for fuel wood, overgrazing and over-exploitation of resources are just a few of the strains on the mangrove’s ecosystem. Steel mills, refineries and power stations are some of the large polluting industries found in the area. Tanneries are perhaps the worst. Their untreated effluents, massively loaded with heavy metals, are being disposed daily into the sea, thereby contaminating the food chain. High concentrations of heavy metal such as lead, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury and cobalt have recently been recorded in marine biota and sediments (Davis, 1993). They are hazardous and poisonous for all forms of life.”