'Karachi faces tsunami risk as mangroves reducing’

Amar Guriro, The Daily Times 15 Apr 09;

KARACHI: Environmental experts have expressed concern over the reduction of mangrove forests along the Sindh coast, warning that if the mangroves are not protected, the city fears a greater risk of being hit by a tsunami in the future.

“Land reclamation along the coastal areas is the cause of this rapid reduction in mangrove forests,” said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan National Coordinator Masood Lohar. “Besides the reclamation, the domestic and highly toxic industrial effluent that is being poured in the Arabian Sea has also damaged the mangrove forests,” added Lohar, as he guided a group of journalists on a visit to the mangrove forests located near the Kakapir village, Sandspit, where the UNDP, in collaboration of the Small Grants Programme, has launched an awareness programme among the indigenous communities.

“Mangroves are the shields of the coast that stop tsunamis. The level of damage caused by the industrial effluent to the mangroves can be gauged from the fact that most of the mangrove forests along the coasts of Karachi are filled with chemicals, severely affecting the natural growth of these trees,” he said, while adding that the decreasing mangrove plantation is also the reason for the changes in the weather pattern of the city.

During the tour, journalists visited the newly-built safety shed. “Local people have initiated a boat ride and a safety shed in the sea, to promote eco-tourism,” said Abdul Ghani, a resident of the village. Federal Additional Secretary for Environment Imtiaz Inayat Elhai had inaugurated the safety shed, which floats in the backwaters of the village.

Talking to the media, Elahi said that the federal government is planning to launch an awareness program to highlight the importance of the mangrove forests. Interestingly, when the agreement between the Sindh government and the federal government for the release of 10 million acre feet (MAF) of water in downstream Kotri, annually, to facilitate the survival of the mangroves and the subsequent inaction in this regard was brought to his notice, the federal additional secretary expressed completed ignorance about any such an agreement.