‘Marine life and humans equally threatened by rising coastal pollution’

Karachi
Participants of a meeting on Sunday emphasised the need for coordinated and intensified measures to protect marine life along Karachi’s coastal areas.
They also called for due safety of livelihood of the concerned communities. Unabated coastal pollution has emerged as a serious health risk due to the bio-accumulation of chemical pollutants in the food chain. The issue, agreed the speakers, needed to be urgently contained through policy implementation and mega sewage treatment schemes.
The meeting of Coordinating Body of Mangroves for the Future Programme (MFF) was chaired by Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan, and the participants included IUCN Regional Director for Asia Aban Marker Kabraji, representatives of Sindh and Balochistan agencies, NGOs academia and research institutions.
Kabraji, while explaining the levels of pollution along the Karachi coast, said that due to increase in pollution along the coast, eating marine animals such as shellfish and crabs could pose serious health risks to people.
Sharing details of a MFF-funded crab-fattening project, the IUCN director said there was considerable potential in Pakistan to promote organic seafood farming through private sector engagement and linking producers with international buyers to generate price premium for coastal communities.
She cited the successful Vietnam model as an example and said it provides insights into such successful collaborations.
Kabraji suggested that the MFF programme could help in building capacities of local tertiary institutions in offering courses in integrated coastal management through the support of IUCN regional experts.
She highlighted the significance of investing in coastal resources management and integration of gender aspects into project-planning so as to encourage greater involvement of women in the decision-making process.
Inspector General of Forests Mahmood Nasir informed the participants that under the international conventions, Pakistan was obligated to establish marine protected areas.
He termed illegal fishing practices as serious threat to food security and biodiversity loss in coastal areas of Pakistan, stressing that it needed to be addressed on a priority basis.
IUCN Country Representative Mahmood Akhtar Cheema pointed out that Pakistan still lagged behind several countries as there was not a single marine area designated as protected.
MFF National Coordinator Ghulam Qadir Shah presented details of the progress made under the project and the future plans. He said the programme was greatly contributing to capacity-building of the government, civil society, the private sector and local communities, and promoting investment in coastal resources conservation through grants.
The MFF’s projects in Pakistan are being implemented through small and medium grant projects, which is unique in a way, because it is open to a vast segment, including governmental organizations, civil society, the media and the academia that are interested in implementing projects along the coast.