Community people bring a lake alive after 20 years

HYDERABAD: A small boat was quite visible at a little distance in recently rehabilitated Chachh Suleman Lake in Sujawal district. Three-four fishermen onboard a boat could be seen pulling fishing nets to collect their catch.

The lake near village Chhachh Jahan Khan was among around 60 freshwater lakes, which were hit hard by cyclone 02A on May 20, 1999. The disaster destroyed infrastructure all around, leaving people in a lurch for seven years.

Muhammad Khan Mallah, a local fisherman described how the once diminished lake was rehabilitated; after a long time it was again a source of livelihood for the people. He said there were two boats owned by the community people, who worked in biting cold to catch some fish daily for their consumption as well as for selling in a local market. Mallah said the community lost their livelihood as almost all freshwater lakes turned into saline ponds. The disaster shrunk natural habitats of birds, fish, and precious plants too.

Residing in village Shahdino Mallah, near the lake, Khan Mallah said the sea has gobbled up around 25 lakes out of 60 in the area. “Many others are contaminated too, where there are neither fish nor attractive flora for wildlife,” he added. The disaster not only caused destruction of standing crops on hundreds of acres of land, it also ruined wetlands.

Chachh Suleman Lake was one of the largest natural lakes in Union Council Chachh Jehan Khan, Sujawal district. The lake shrunk from its original area due to irregular irrigation water system. Once a home to migratory birds the lake lost all attraction for birds. Fishing activities died out too.

Elderly fishermen recalling happy days said the lake covered an area of 1,030 acres. Today, it stretches over barely 360 acres, providing sustenance to only a few fishing families.

Akhtar Jatt, another community activist, who worked on the water body’s rehabilitation, said the cyclone caused salinity and aridity all around. As a result, farmers could not cultivate their lands for seven consecutive years and faced drought-like situation. The disaster devastated entire irrigation system, contaminated fertile land, leaving farmers, fishermen, herders and entire workforce to face hardship.

Since the lake has lost important vegetation and precious plant species that people used as raw materials for their handicrafts, more than 5,000 traditional artisan families have migrated to other waters in search of better livelihood. Chachh Jahan Khan Village had a major fish and traditional mats and handicrafts market that attractive people from all over the region. However, with the loss of vegetation, the market has fizzled out too, negatively impacting the rural economy of the area.

According to community activists there were scattered habitats of threatened otters near the lake, where the people claim to have seen a small population of this animal. One natural drain was known after otters in the neighbourhood. Besides common mammals, many common bird species inhabited the area. Black and grey partridges, white-checked nightingale (pycnonotus leucogenys), great horned owl (bubo bubo), long billed vultures (gyps indicus) and other birds were regular residents. Among waterfowls, great flamingo and others were sighted during winter. After the loss of natural habitats, local as well as migratory birds have changed their destination, activists said. However, after almost 20 years the lake has been rehabilitated by UNDP Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme through a local partner organisation Hamdard Welfare Association (HWA). The HWA works in the coastal area to improve natural resources by conserving biodiversity of Indus delta ecosystem, rehabilitating degraded mangroves, and creating alternative livelihoods such as crab farming and marines fisheries aqua culture.

The rehabilitation of freshwater lake has benefitted more than 15,000 community members, who could now improve their economic conditions. The joint action by the community has controlled migration through rehabilitation of local livelihood resources.

Direct beneficiaries include about 300 families that now catch fish from the lake to sell locally. The community people have restored natural feeding sources of the lakes through irrigation watercourses. Rehabilitation of one lake has inspired people to adopt similar methods to reclaim the other lakes.

Abul Razzaq Malah, one of the custodians of the lake suggested creating an outlet to change freshwater by draining out stagnant water, considering that increasing salinity in the bottom of the lake might affect survival of fish.

He was happy that his children could now have proper nutrition and the lake was breathing again. The community people were also optimistic about the return of Siberian birds after the lake’s recovery.