KARACHI: Experts at the 17 meeting of the National Coordinating Body (NCB) of Mangroves for the Future Programme (MFF) have said that the Indus Delta is sinking due to rising sea level couple with numerous other factors, including human.
The meeting was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan on Friday at the HEJ-Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi
The meeting was chaired by Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Abu Ahmed Akif. However, journalists were not invited to cover the event.
In his opening remarks, Abu Ahmed Akif highlighted key successes the ministry had achieved jointly with the IUCN and other stakeholders as well as brought focus on numerous coast related issues.
Speaking on the occasion, IUCN Country Representative Mahmood Akhtar Cheema resented the background and context that led to the creation of the Mangroves for the Future programme (MFF). He said that the NCB was a coordinating body and the only platform that brought together all relevant coastal stakeholders to discuss issues pertaining to coastal sustainability.
He highlighted the declaration of Astola as Pakistan’s first marine protected area, “achieved through the support of the Ministry of Climate Change as well as the provincial government of Balochistan, with technical support provided by IUCN”.
He highlighted the Green Climate Fund (GCF) project that the IUCN was targeting for another five-year programme along the coasts of Sindh and Balochistan.
The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Pakistan, using different maps of Sindh and Balochistan coasts, explained that a survey was in the process of being launched along the coast to obtain further data. The focus, it was noted, was to assess tidal inundation and sediment monitoring to gauge land subsidence. “Research confirms that human interference is sinking deltas four times faster than the rise in sea level,” the NIO added.
The representatives of the National Institution (NIO) quoting various studies observed that most deltas around the world are sinking as they are unable to grow rapidly enough to keep pace with the rising sea level -the Indus Delta faces a similar issue, coupled with numerous other factors, including human.”
Representatives of the Balochistan Forest Department explained the process that led to the declaration of Astola as a marine protected area, and said they were in the process of developing a management plan for the island – urging organisations such as IUCN, the Climate Change Ministry and the NIO – to assist.
It was shared that the IUCN would organise a workshop on Astola management planning and would draw support from its regional and global technical expertise, using a scientific approach and capitalising on best practices from other parts of the world.
MFF Programme National Coordinator Ghulam Qadir Shah presented details of the progress made under the MFF in Pakistan and the programme’s future plans – citing key achievements such as the massive million mangroves plantation campaign jointly underway with the Pakistan Navy.
He said that the MFF Programme was greatly contributing to capacity building of government, civil society, private sector and local communities and promoting investment in coastal resources conservation through its grants programme.
The MFF activities 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 organisations, civil society, the media and the academia, that are interested in implementing projects along the Pakistani coast.
Published in Daily Times, September 16th 2017.
