The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum is a non-governmental organization that works to advance the goal of social, economic, cultural and political rights of small scale indigenous fisher communities in Pakistan. more
PFF fortnightly email news bulletin from 16 to 31 Dec 2008
Experts worried over the disastrous impacts of climate Change on theFishing Communities
Experts and fisherfolks showed their serious concerns over increasing symptoms of climate change on the coastal belt of Sindh at a seminar organized by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum on 31 December 2008 at a local Hotel in Karachi. Coastal belt of Pakistan being the region of diverse topography has been facing serious threats of disasters. The disasters often hit coast includes flesh floods, cyclones, droughts and earthquakes etc. There are many reasons to believe that the frequency and the scales of different disaster are expected to increase in different parts of Pakistan. The coast of Pakistan has been experiencing worst sea intrusion, land erosion, flash floods, cyclones and drought conditions for last two decades. This largely affected its surface and groundwater resources as well as other natural livelihood resources. For more details see at http://pff.org.pk/node/139
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2009 formally titled ‘National Year of Environment’
With a commitment to cope with the global challenge of environmental degradation and climate change, 2009 has been formally titled ‘The National Year of Environment’, The News learnt.
Launching the National Year of Environment 2009, Federal Minister for Environment, Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi said on Tuesday that Pakistan is facing a number of environmental challenges due to the accelerated economic and demographic changes. Unsustainable rate of population growth, dependency on natural resources and lack of awareness is gradually leading to over-exploitation and ultimately environmental degradation. Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, and Additional Secretary, Imtiaz Inayat Elehi, were also present on the occasion.
Pakistan is also facing negative consequences of climate change, such as glacial retreat, glacial lake outburst, droughts, flash floods and other associated natural hazards, the minister maintained. The environmental degradation is estimated to cause economic loss of Rs365 billion per annum alone, which amounts to six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. The minister appreciated the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan for declaring 2009 as the National Year of Environment. Their patronage demonstrates strong political commitment to the environment conservation at large.
Afridi apprised the media that keeping in view the urgency for arresting environmental degradation, the Ministry of Environment has developed a comprehensive plan of activities for engaging all stakeholders including government and non-government institution, civil society organisations, conservation professionals, academia, local communities and electronic/print media for a proactive role in the environment conservation and achieving sustainable development.
Secretary Environment, Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, explaining the aims and objectives of the National Year of Environment, informed that the prime objective of this celebration is to raise awareness among the common masses regarding environmental issues and creating support for attitudinal changes for environment-friendly Pakistan. Additional Secretary Environment, Imtiaz Inayat Elehi, making a presentation on the events of the Year of Environment said that to recognise the importance of the Year of Environment, commemorative stamps would be launched as first step in January 2009. This would be followed by a regional conference on climate change where internationally renowned professionals would participate.
Other activities include Pakistan Clean Air Programme, Control of pollution from brick kilns and stone crushers, Pakistan Water and Sanitation Programme, Green City Programme, Mass aforestation of 10 million trees in a single day, Green Industry Programme, Clean River Programme, School Hygiene and Sanitation Programme, Village Clean up Programme, launch of massive campaign for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, launching of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plans, launching of Solid, Hazardous and Hospital Waste Management Programme and Coastal and Marine Pollution Control Programme.
At the end, the minister encouraged the media to extend its full support to the Ministry of Environment in making this endeavour a success for a green and prosperous Pakistan.
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Fishermen, DHA in bid to resolve dispute
The Defence Housing Authority and the fishermen community of Gizri have agreed to form a committee, to be headed by Director of DHA Special Projects Iftikhar Haider, to find an amicable solution to the lingering row between the two sides over fishing and other issues in the Gizri Creek area.
The committee will have two members each from the DHA and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and its terms of reference include determining an appropriate site for anchoring/harbouring of boats at Gizri Creek, determining the number of boats allowed to be anchored/parked according to the capacity of the embankment, registration of boats with the DHA and devising a monitoring mechanism to minimise the chances of the boats’ use for human, drug or arms trafficking.
The committee will put forward its recommendations to the DHA executive board and governing body. The recommendations will be implemented immediately after approval by the two bodies.
The agreement came at a meeting between DHA Administrator Brig Khalid Tirmizi and a delegation of the PFF led by MNA Abdul Qadir Patel at the DHA office on Friday.
All contentious issues between the DHA and the local fishermen community came under discussion at the meeting.
A DHA statement said that the delegation also held a meeting, chaired by Brig Tirmizi, with other officials of the Authority.
It said that the PFF asked for an unhindered access for the local fishermen to the Gizri Creek for harbouring and anchoring fishing boats. The DHA officials expressed certain apprehensions about the activities of the fishermen and other elements.
Brig Tirmizi told the delegation that DHA attached great importance to the fishermen community and was aware of their problems. However, he added, the issue of fishermen’s livelihood should be seen in the light of ground realities and resolved amicably in a positive spirit.
MNA Qadir Patel, on behalf of the aggrieved fishermen, assured the DHA administrator that the Gizri fishermen community would not indulge in any activity that could cause embarrassment to the DHA or create security or other such problems. He said that the PFF would fully cooperate with the DHA in resolving the issues amicably. The PFF held out the assurance that the fishing boats employed by the Gizri fishermen would not be used for or any illegal activity.
The PFF side was represented by PFF chairman Mohammad Ali Shah, Majeed Motani and Sami Memon.—APP
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Committee collects samples of soil: Breach in Wasa lagoon
HYDERABAD, Dec 28: Members of an inquiry committee formed by the chief minister to determine causes of a breach in 100 million gallon lagoon of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) collected samples of soil on Sunday from the lagoon’s bed and the place where the breach had taken place.
“The samples have been collected to determine classification of the soil that has been used in the establishment of the third lagoon by the Wasa,” said an official.
The committee would receive findings of the soil test by Monday, which had been carried out at two different laboratories, one of them located in Karachi.
The committee dug the lagoon at different spots at upstream and downstream to see whether the use of soil in building the reservoir had been approved. “The committee members need to check whether the lagoon’s sloped embankment was symmetrical from inside and outside,” said a source.
The committee has been tasked with probing the causes leading to the breach, which flooded Sajan Detho, Khan Mohammad Maher, Wahid Palari and Misri Shaikh village, fixing responsibility and assessing losses to public and private properties and rehabilitation.
The committee has recorded statements of Wasa’s officials including Saleemuddin, Zeeshan Malik, Bashir and two residents of the area and would record more statements.
It was not confirmed whether the committee would examine consultant of the district government, who was assigned the reservoir’s work in 2004.
The government had released funds for the reservoir when the city was hit by unprecedented water crisis in May 2004, claiming 42 lives after consumption of poisonous water released from Manchhar Lake into the River Indus.
Repair work on the third lagoon has been stopped under directives of the inquiry committee officials until inquiry has been completed.
The lagoon was built in 2005 when it was filled with water for the first time. “Unfortunately, it developed a leak the first time,” said an official, adding that last year it was again filled and sustained the pressure.
“While there could be multiple reasons for the breach but I have noted that villagers have dug up five to six feet trench on the lagoon’s toe to get seeping water for the agricultural land,” Shafi Mohammad Lakho, the then district government’s consultant, who had worked on the northern and southern lagoons’ de-silting, had said after inspecting the site.
He said that the trench was now filled with water but traces of digging’s traces were still there. The same lagoon had earlier worked thrice successfully and withstood water pressure but there could be a lapse from monitoring point of view. Source Dawn
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‘Economic crunch disastrous for fisherfolk’
By By Jan Khaskheli
The recent economic crunch has proved fatal for the marginalised sections of society, fisherfolk in particular, who have been deprived of all basic necessities of life, speakers said on Wednesday at a seminar titled ‘Pakistan Economy and the Poverty of Fishermen.’ The event was organised by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) in collaboration with ActionAid Pakistan.
A large number of fisherfolk, women as well as men, belonging to various coastal localities of Karachi, Thatta and Badin attended the event. The PFF had invited all officials concerned, economists, intellectuals, and civil society representatives along with community people to share their views. Unfortunately, economists as well as government representatives ignored the voice of the victims.
The state departments add more problems to the lives of fisherfolk by awarding jetties to companies for real estate businesses, contracts of water bodies to influential people, allowing deep-sea industrial trawlers to poach fish stock from Pakistani waters and leaving land and timber mafia to chop off the mangrove forest, speakers said.
They demanded immediate measures to amend the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance 1980 from which the term ‘lease’ or ‘contract’ should be deleted. They also demand an announcement of a right-based sustainable fisheries policy by the government- a policy that must incorporate all indivisible human rights, including socioeconomic, cultural, political, civic and freedom of expression rights. Moreover, they were sceptical about the pledges that the current Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government has not honoured even after the 10 months of being in the power. The poor fishermen voted to elect the PPP candidates in their vicinities, the speakers claimed.
Ali Mohammed Mallah, hailing from Zero Point on the Badin coast, portrayed the real picture of fishermen residing there. He told The News that now people even catch juvenile fish and crabs – something they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing 10 to 15 years ago.
There is no fish along the seashore because several sugar mills flow their waste and chemicals through drains to the sea, poisoning the sea, their source of livelihood, he said.
The speakers also criticised parliamentarians elected from fisherfolk constituencies, and said that they breached promises made to the marginalised fisherfolk community. Source The news international
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By Asma Rashid
Awareness regarding climate change and its economic and social impacts is one of the dire needs of the hour considering the ever-mounting phenomenon of global warming. Tropical cyclones, which bring in their wake huge devastation to life and property, is the area where people need to be educated beforehand, particularly at a time when global climate change has every likelihood to enhance their frequency and intensity with the passage of time.
Among the most consequential effects of global climate change is a probability of change in tropical cyclone activity. Hurricanes, severe cyclonic storms or typhoons are region-specific names of intense tropical storms of sustained winds of 74 miles per hour and greater. The recent past has witnessed unprecedented manifestations of cyclone occurrences. The period between June 1 and November 30, 2005, witnessed the most active and robust hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean in the recorded history. Seven hurricanes were formed in the Atlantic during this time, wrecking property of over $120 billion and claiming more than 2,000 lives.
Similarly, the 2007 cyclone season in the Indian Ocean happened to be very active and distinctive in the known history. Tropical cyclone Gonu and tropical storm Yemyin developed in the northern Indian Ocean in the space of just two week, during June 2007, a unique happening for the basin. Moreover, Gonu (a Category-5 cyclone in the Arabian Sea) and Sidr (a Category-4 cyclone in Bay of Bengal) were the unprecedented high-intensity cyclones formed in 2007 in the Indian Ocean. Scientists speculate that the increase in intensity, number and associated destructive potential of tropical cyclones is due to the rising ocean surface temperatures associated with global warming.
Tropical cyclones do not form till certain conditions are met. A sea surface temperature usually higher than 26 degrees Celsius, associated with high humidity and low wind shear, provides conducive circumstances for the formation of a tropical cyclone. Some recent scientific articles have reported 40 percent increase in tropical cyclone energy, numbers and wind-speeds in some regions during the last few decades. An increase in ocean temperature and water vapours contributes to more intense tropical cyclones.
The world's oceans have absorbed about 20 times as much heat as the atmosphere over the past half-century, leading to higher temperatures not only in surface waters (depth of less than 100 feet) but also down to substantial depths, with the most severe warming occurring in the first 1,500 feet below the surface. In addition, observations of atmospheric humidity over the oceans show that water vapour content has increased four percent since 1970. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fourth Assessment Report, speaks of the evidences of increased cyclone activity since the 1970s.
In August 2005, a study by Emanuel was published in weekly scientific journal Nature claiming that the power dissipated by tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean has approximately doubled since the 1950s, with most of the increase occurring over the past three decades. Another article by PJ Webster, published in weekly journal Science in September 2005, revealed that the percentage of hurricanes of Category-4 or -5 intensities has increased over the same period in all six tropical storm basins: North-western Pacific Ocean, North-eastern Pacific Ocean, North-central Pacific Ocean, Northern Atlantic Ocean, Northern Indian Ocean and South-eastern Indian Ocean. The findings from both studies correlate with the rise in sea surface temperatures in regions where tropical cyclones typically originate.
A study by Knutson and Tuleya, published in Journal of Climate in September 2004, shows that a one percent annual increase of atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations over the next 80 years would produce more intense storms, and rainfall would increase at an average of 18 percent compared with the present day conditions. The World Meteorological Organisation projects a 3-5 percent increase in wind-speed per degree Celsius increase of tropical sea surface temperatures. Water vapour in the lower troposphere (0-3 kilometres) will increase about 6 percent for every 1 degree Celsius of warming.
Rising sea levels resulting from climate change also contribute to the damage caused by cyclones. The inflow of water from polar and glacial ice, melting due to increasing atmospheric temperature, raised global sea level at an average rate of 1.8 (1.3 to 2.3) millimetres per year from 1961 to 2003. The rate was even faster between 1993 and 2003: about 3.1 (2.4 to 3.8) millimetres per year, according to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007. A rising sea level means higher storm surges, even from relatively minor storms, which increases coastal flooding and subsequent storm damage along coasts. In addition, the associated heavy rains can extend hundreds of miles inland, further increasing the risk of flooding.
The increased cyclone activities around the globe pose serious threat to Pakistan also. It is a bi-modal phenomenon in the Indian Ocean: tropical cyclones occur in the months before and after the monsoon season. The 1,050 kilometre-long coastline of Pakistan along the Arabian Sea, with 800 kilometres of it belonging to Balochistan and the remaining 250 kilometres to Sindh, renders the areas highly vulnerable to destruction by cyclones.
Development of tropical cyclone Gonu and tropical storm Yemyin in the Indian Ocean in June 2007 was an unprecedented spectacle of cyclonic activity in such quick succession. The cyclone Gonu was the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the northern Indian Ocean. Fortunately, it did not make landfall on Pakistan's coast. However, cyclone Yemyin did made its landfall along the Makran coast and ravaged the southern parts of Balochistan.
According to government sources, 250,000 people were rendered homeless in Balochistan by the cyclone and the ensuing heavy rains and flash floods. On the whole, the disaster affected 2.5 million people in Balochistan and Sindh, destroying habitats, as well as social and physical infrastructure. The disaster has been deemed by the UN disaster prevention official, Salvano Briceno, as an "indication of what might happen more frequently and severely due to global warming."
Keeping in view the economic pulse of Karachi and Gwadar ports, the need to attend the adverse impacts of climate change and global warming on coastal areas of Pakistan is a must. Research efforts on cyclone activity in the Arabian Sea are sparse despite the critical economic significance of the area. As a matter of fact, a research-guided approach to mitigation and adaptation needs to be adopted to address the losses not only to the coastal communities of Pakistan, but also in the larger economic interest of the country.
The author is Scientific information Officer at Global Change Impact Studies Centre, Islamabad.Email: asma.ras@gmail.com)
Source The News International on Sunday
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Despite promises made by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led government problems of the fishermen are far from over even at the end of this year, as the contract system of leasing out inland water bodies, continues to jeopardise the livelihood and sustenance of the community in Sindh.
Resistance against this unfair practice launched by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) has still not reached a favorable conclusion because activists allege that the PPP is following in the same vein as the former Pakistan Muslim League -Quaid (PML-Q) led government. “It appears that there is no hope for the fishermen who have long been waiting for relief from the authorities,” PFF spokesman Sami Memon said.
Memon added that the practice of the contract system is a violation of notifications that have been issued by the provincial government. The contract system has been abolished by the former government as the former chief minister, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim during his visit to Zero Point, Badin district had announced the abolition of the system on all the inland water bodies and directed the concerned authorities to issue licenses to bona fide fishermen immediately. Later, the provincial government issued an amendment in the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance, abolishing the contract system along with fixed fees for licenses for bona fide fishermen whose license have been issued since October 22, 2007.
Similarly, present Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, had reiterated the same distaste for contract system in his budget 2008-09 speech, terming it an exploitation of fishermen. He had also issued orders to protect the livelihood of the fishermen community. There are 1,209 water bodies in the province, many of them come under the jurisdiction of Wildlife and Forest departments, which are the main source of income for the fishermen. Around 30 lakes under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department have either dried up due to lack of water supply by canals or have turned polluted as they receive industrial and agricultural affluent.
The decision was applied to all the water bodies, including territories falling under the Forest and Wildlife Departments. However, the Forest and Wildlife Department Hyderabad continue to award contracts to influential people, who have barred the fishermen from entering these water bodies.
Meanwhile, the PFF representatives have sent letters to the Sindh Chief Minister, Fisheries Minister, Chief Secretary, Minister of Forest and Wildlife, Secretary Fisheries and Livestock and Director Fisheries Inland, demanding that their sources of livelihood should be secured. The PPP founding chairman, late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had also issued directives to replace contract system with licensing for bona fide fishermen in 1976. However, there has been no implementation of the amendments.
When contacted, Sindh Fisheries Minister spokesman, quoting Director Inland Fisheries Hyderabad, told The News that the Fisheries Department itself is following the chief minster’s orders properly. As far as the matter related to water bodies coming under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife and Forest Departments is concerned, the CM secretariat should take notice of their decisions. The spokesman said they did not know the fresh situation of auctioning waters to influential people in the province. He added that he will convey the matter to the minister who is busy at the moment.
The PFF is scheduling to mobilise the community people belonging to different freshwaters to launch an effective struggle against contract system. BY Jan Khaskheli, Source The News International
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Water experts’ team on Manchhar proposed
HYDERABAD, Dec 18: A committee of experts should be formed to look into the problems of releasing Manchhar Lake water into the River Indus, said Director, High-tech Central Resources Laboratory, University of Sindh, Dr M.Y. Khuhawar.
Experts with considerable experience should be taken from the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, PCSIR laboratories and National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, he said.
In a statement faxed to Dawn, he said that the situation at Manchhar Lake was hitting headlines for last four years creating confusion and problems with regards to human health.
He said that the condition of Manchhar lake had remained static for last few years with seasonal variations, including highest salt concentration during March-May and lowest in August-November.
Similarly, seasonal variations in salt contents at River Indus could be predicted on the experience of last two decades, he said and added that statistically it was possible to work out dilution ratio throughout the year.
He suggested that the ratio of Manchhar-River Indus (1:30) would enable to keep salt levels at River Indus within the World Health Organisation standards (TDS 500 mg/L) but the dilution ratio of 1:100 would not result in significant effect on average water quality of River Indus.
The Hyderabad Development Authority, in the last two years, made many efforts for controlling the quality of drinking water, he said.
However, he maintained that the highly disturbing claims were being made about the quality of water in Manchhar Lake and its effect on the River Indus and on humans benefiting from the Kotri Barrage and downstream.
It was also being suggested to purify the water through expensive reverse osmosis process, said Dr Khuhawar.
He said that generally it was accepted that purification processes may be applied at the source rather than at the end and added that the cost should be paid by polluters and not consumers.
Nazim opens asphalt road: Inaugurating the sewerage line and an asphalt road from Memon Hospital to Habib Hotel, the District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil said that the road would not only benefit residents but also the suburban population coming to Hyderabad daily.
District Nazim during the inaugural ceremony held on Thursday said that the residents, particularly of 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14 and 15 union councils of City taluka would benefit the most.
The purpose of laying sewerage lines before the construction of roads was to ease the sewerage problem, he said.
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Mangroves discovered near Thatta
Karachi: Experts have discovered and are trying to preserve the presence of mangroves in a site located some 120-kilometres inshore in the Thatta district — adjacent to the south-eastern lower part of Keenjhar Lake. What is unique about this patch of vegetation, according to experts, is that is it far from the shore, and is also not connected to the River Indus or the sea.
In a recent study titled ‘A Unique Basin: Mangrove Stand of the Indus Delta’ by Syed Mohammad Saifullah and Fayyaz Rasool and sponsored by Mangrove Ecosystem Lab, Department of Botany, University of Karachi, it was found that locals who use Avicenna marina for feeding their cattle may have introduced propagules in the area. The basin forest flourishes well for long periods without seawater intrusion elsewhere. Experts believe that there may have been a connection between these plants and the Indus River in the past. The propagules of Avicenna marina drifted into an area where they were trapped, thus germinating and eventually becoming full-fledged trees.
The mangroves were discovered in a low-lying area of about 12 acres, isolated from Keenjhar Lake by a narrow embankment as high as four metres on the western side and from the Indus River at a distance of three kilometres on the eastern side. It is located in close vicinity of an old graveyard with 16th-century Chawkandi style graves, and is isolated by a stony embankment with a concrete road on top without any opening. The Indus River flows some three kilometres west of the site. The lake is 20 miles long, 34 feet deep and covers an area of about 50 square miles and has a storage capacity of 0.524MAF. The lake receiving water from the River Indus through the Kotri Baghar Upper Feeder, supplies about 1,000 cusecs of water per day to Karachi. The study pointed out that big trees have been chopped off for wood by locals and the remaining shrubs are subjected to grazing.
Mangroves are terrestrial plants that have inhabited coastal areas to avoid competition from other such plants. They have adopted several physiological and morphological mechanisms to overcome salt stress, including salt exclusion. In fact, mangroves grow happily along rivers and can also grow in fresh water.
In 1974, researchers described five different types of mangrove forests or environmental settings — fringe forest, dwarf forest, over-wash forest, riverine forest and basin forest. Fringe forests are the most common type, inhabiting coastal margins and inshore protected areas. The first three types are tide-dominated, the fourth river-dominated while the last one does not fall into either of the two categories because it is isolated from the river and seashore. Basin forests are located in depressions inside the land, far away from the sea and hardly receive any seawater except at extraordinarily high tides. They have also been considered as a closed mangrove ecosystem, they said.
The present mangrove stand may be classified into this category. However, it is a little different because it is not connected to the sea through any channel or water course. It is about 120 kilometres inland from the nearest seashore, which is perhaps the first ever record of the inland limit of mangrove occurrence. Earlier reports of black mangroves were found 100 kilometres inland from the shore.
The recent construction and expansion of a pucca road on the embankments separating the site from the lake has affected vegetation in the area. It is also expected that the area may be reclaimed as a tourist spot in future, thereby eliminating the remaining mangroves. Researchers have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Sindh Forest Department to (SFA) to declare the area as protected.
The area of study was within the dense mangrove stand, and contained shallow water which was pale yellow in colour. The water was actually from underground seepage because there was no open connection between the area and the lake or the Indus River. Its salinity was as low as three to four per cent but in exposed sites, the salinity of the water present in small depressions was as high as 10 to 15 per cent. The chemical analysis of the mangrove mud revealed that the soil was rich in organic matter as compared to that of the fringe forest and other marine types. The basin forests are known to be rich in this because of the absence of diurnal tidal mixing and low flushing. In this case, there is no tidal mixing at all and no export of organic matter. The litter is accumulated along with other decomposing parts of the plant, resulting in peat formation.
Basin mangrove forests are characterised by fully grown trees of mangroves that act as nutrient sinks which allow maximum growth. Although the mangroves were spread all over, the thickest mangrove cover occupied an area of about four acres in the middle. The mangroves belonged to only one species, Avicenna marina, growing as bushes as tall as 1.5m. Earlier large trees, as high as 10m or more, would grow in the area but were all cut by locals. Now, only their stumps remain. By Jan Khaskheli, Source The News International
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The Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) called an immediate meeting to prepare a quick assessment report with recommendations to send to higher authorities regarding the oil pipeline burst in Korangi. Officials, however, refused to share the decisions of the meeting, and said that they will present the report directly to the high-ups.
An environmentalist associated with the semi-government organisation told The News on conditions of anonymity said that he advised Sepa officials to bring dry mud trucks to build an embankment around the affected area. In case of rain, the oil could flow to the seawater and may affect marine ecology, he said, adding however, that he was not sure if the Agency had the equipment to deal with the matter.
Experts claim that the spill from a damaged oil pipeline of the Pak Arab Refinery in the Korangi neighbourhood can have serious repercussions for the environment and the health of residents from the densely-populated area, and the impending rains will complicate matters further.
“Underground water, air and vegetation will be severely polluted because of the spilt oil,” Mohammed Azhar, a teacher at the Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Karachi (KU), told The News. The first precautionary action should be the immediate evacuation of residents to safe areas, he said, adding that in the mean time, authorities concerned should spray chemicals on the scene of the spillage to reduce the harmful effects of crude oil.
“If it rains, the oil may also contaminate surface water sources and ultimately flow to the sea which will result in the destruction of marine life,” Azhar warned.
An increase in breathing problems has been reported by the residents of the affected areas, and environmentalists assert that the spill may have long term affects on lungs, thus multiplying the risk of cancer and other diseases.
Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Secretary-General Dr Habib Rehman Soomro said that oil spillage was a considerable threat to the health of the people if prompt measures were not taken. He explained that crude oil carries ingredients such as carbon and sulphur, which are potential health hazards. Inhaling polluted air also carries risks for health. Dr Soomro said that foremost importance should be given to the matter to prevent health hazards.
Meanwhile, people who had been evacuated from the neighbourhood of the oil spillage have already returned to their residences. Another environmentalist, Waqar Ahmed from the Institute of Environment Studies, KU, said that crude oil carried more infections. “The oil was spilled in the form of a fountain which rose up to 70 feet up in the sky. It carried volatile compounds,” he said, adding that the air these people are breathing in now is harmful for both humans and the wildlife.
He explained that the oily mud can be removed from affected areas, but “all that is required now is political will.”
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah has said that it is the failure of the government institutions, which have done nothing to avoid human and environment loss when such incidents occur. Shah said the Korangi oil spillage occurred near a drainage, which carries urban waste to the sea. He said it will affect the marine ecology directly or indirectly, as the sea is not far from the affected site.
Shah said that the government institutions have still been unable to prepare a comprehensive report about the loss of the Tasman Spirit’s oil cargo. The compensation to the affected fishermen is still pending. By Jan Khaskheli, Source The News International
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Committee on lake water meets today
HYDERABAD, Dec 17: A provincial water release committee will meet on Thursday to decide the quantum of water to be released into River Indus from Manchhar Lake whose level is rising and release of water from it is becoming inevitable to save the lake’s embankments.
On the other hand, the annual closure of Kotri Barrage is approaching fast and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) which had faced a setback in storage of water due to November 10 breach in its third lagoon, is trying to fill its reservoirs before the closure takes place.
The committee was formed in the wake of an unprecedented water crisis which hit Hyderabad city in May 2,004, leading to deaths of around 42 people due to consumption of poisonous water released into the river without taking Wasa and Kotri Barrage authorities on board.
Officials of health and environment departments, Kotri and Sukkur barrages and Wasa and the Hyderabad Development Authority are members of the committee besides Hyderabad district government’s water technologist Dr Mohammad Ahsan Siddiqui. District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil is the chairman of the committee.
Samples of water of the lake and river water at Kotri Barrage and at the point where lake water is mixed in it are normally collected to examine quality of water.
The water technologist has set up camps at various points of the river for regularly taking samples of water and proposing the said ratio. A recent report has revealed that the lake’s water has become unfit for human consumption.—Staff correspondent/Dawn
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Iceland sees its future in fish
By Jill Lawless
REYKJAVIK (Iceland): For centuries, Icelanders earned a living from the sea, setting out in small boats to haul cod, haddock and herring from the North Atlantic waters.
But in recent years these proud descendants of Vikings found new fish to catch, scooping up businesses around the world with the help of light financial regulation and turbocharged banks.
Now the sea may once again be Iceland’s lifeline. While the rest of the economy crumbles, the island nation’s fishing industry is booming, with big catches and rising export prices thanks to the collapse of Iceland’s currency, the krona.
“There was some banker who said we didn’t need the fishing industry”, said Helgi Mar Sigurgeirsson, chief engineer of a fishing trawler moored in Reykjavik harbour. “He said we could make money with the banks. I’d like to speak to him now”.
Fishing is so entwined with Iceland’s national identity that the country’s coins carry pictures of cod, crabs and capelin. Generations of Icelanders have harvested the rich fishing grounds around the volcanic island, where the warm Gulf Stream and cold Arctic waters meet.
It was a hard life, full of danger and conflict.
Between the 1950s and the 1970s, Iceland – sick of what it saw as poaching by foreign vessels – unilaterally expanded its exclusive fishing limit several times, ultimately to 200 nautical miles. The actions sparked a series of “Cod Wars” with Britain where Royal Navy ships sailed for Iceland and Icelandic coast guard boats cut the nets of British trawlers.
Iceland won the showdown, in part by threatening to kick Nato forces out of their base on the island, and has since gained international praise for managing its fishery sustainably while other countries have over-fished their stocks to extinction.
Environmentalists and foreign governments are less enamoured of the country’s whaling industry. After an international moratorium since the 1980s, Iceland resumed whaling in 2006. The government says the fin and minke whales being hunted are plentiful in Iceland’s coastal waters, although fin whales are on the International Conservation Union’s “red list” of endangered species.
Iceland’s fishing industry has always punched above its weight economically. Last year fishing employed four per cent of Iceland’s work force, just over 7,000 people. But seafood accounted for almost half of Iceland’s exports, and 10 per cent of GDP.
“Fishing-related industries always have been the backbone of our economy”, said Iceland’s fisheries minister, Einar Kristinn Gudfinnsson. And with the economic crisis, “in relative terms fisheries will grow in importance”.
In the last few years, hardy Iceland was seduced by quick money. Financial deregulation, a stock market boom and a surging krona helped Icelandic entrepreneurs go on a global buying spree. A new elite of super-rich Icelanders flew around in private jets and drove Hummers and Range Rovers through the streets of Reykjavik, a rough-edged fishing port turned gleaming capital city. One tycoon even flew Elton John to Iceland to perform at his 50th birthday party last year.
Jobs were plentiful in the booming economy. Hundreds of Eastern Europeans have moved to Iceland to work in fish processing plants – dirty, smelly jobs Icelanders no longer wanted.
“We couldn’t keep them going without foreign labour because the Icelanders were too busy working in the banks”, said Sigurdur Sverisson, spokesman for the Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners.
When the credit crunch hit, Iceland’s high-flying banks were left struggling to service debts that amounted to nine times the country’s GDP. In early October, the three main commercial banks were taken over by the government as they collapsed.
Layoffs that began in the banks have rippled through the economy as many businesses struggle to survive. Many Icelanders have found themselves unable to pay car loans and mortgages.
Now, Sverisson said, “people are lining up for jobs in the fishing industry”.
On Reykjavik’s wharves, forklift vehicles scurry about unloading crates of cod, monkfish and other species in dockside warehouses. Within hours much of the day’s catch will have been sold at an internet auction and headed for Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, the US and other countries.
This year’s season is good. Fish are plentiful, and prices for many species are high.
But Sverisson sees a new threat to Iceland’s fishing industry – the European Union. The economic crisis has persuaded many Icelanders the country should join the 27-nation bloc and adopt the euro single currency. Sverisson says that would mean signing up to the EU’s common fisheries policy.
“By joining the European Union we would not have the controlling rights of the stocks anymore”, he said.
For now, fishermen are the poster boys of Iceland’s long slog to economic revival. Sigurgeirsson, 34, has been at sea for 10 years and is bemused by his industry’s new image. He says fishermen are being painted as a cross between national saviours and fat-cats who haul in big salaries from bumper catches.
Trawler crews spend as many as 200 days a year at sea – up to 40 days at a stretch – and receive a share of the catch, so their income fluctuates. Sigurgeirsson says that for every boom year there is another when crews make only the statutory minimum wage.
“On the news they are talking about us now. They say we are making money for the nation”, said Sigurgeirsson, sitting amid coiled ropes and weathered waterproofs below decks of the trawler Faxi. “We have been doing that (all along).
“Now everybody is saying ‘We’re in the same boat.’ Well, I wasn’t on the boat with the bankers. I wasn’t invited to the birthday party with Elton John. I was in the North Atlantic ocean”.—AP/Dawn
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RBOD project serious threat to Haleji Lake
KARACHI, Dec 7: The Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) being dug out in close proximity to the Haleji Lake poses a direct threat to the wetland, once called a birdwatchers’ paradise, already under severe stress owing to inadequate water, a visit to the site revealed.
Nature conservationists say the right and left banks’ outfall drains are playing havoc with Sindh’s wetlands and many have already dried up. At Haleji, the construction of the RBOD was started a few years ago despite concerns raised by the Sindh Wild Department (SWD) officials. No environment impact assessment was carried out, a mandatory condition under the law for such projects.
The construction of the unlined drain is a major violation of the wildlife sanctuary status awarded to the lake, also classified as a Ramsar site, the highest nature conservation honour that a wetland may receive. Talking to Dawn, Sindh wildlife conservator Hussain Bakhsh Bhaagat admitted the construction of the RBOD within the limits of the lake was a serious violation of rules.
“Both drains are the federal government’s projects being executed by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
“The Sindh Wildlife Department had been raising concerns and informing Wapda about the likely damage the drains might cause, asking it to at least line the drain. But, no heed was paid to our requests,” he said.
Both drains, he pointed out, had destroyed a number of wetlands of Sindh. “Most lakes in Badin have dried up while many in other districts, for instance, Larkana and Sanghar, are being wiped off. The adverse impact of the LBOD is known to everybody,” he said, adding that the damage was being caused by the seepage as the drains were 20 to 30 feet below the level of the wetland areas.
“The drains were meant to be non-perennial, but were made perennial. The RBOD is hardly 50 to 100 feet from the lake,” he further said.
Haleji Lake’s present status is saddening for any nature lover. The charred trunks of a large number of surrounding trees, the large portions of the lake choked with aquatic grass and weeds, the ongoing digging for a sewerage drain, the daytime boat fishing along with open cattle grazing in the dry sections of the lake make one wonder what is actually ‘protected’ at the so-called wildlife sanctuary.
Situated about 80 kilometres from Karachi, off the National Highway, the wildlife sanctuary is open to all sorts of abuse though it is manned by three organisations: the irrigation department, the SWD and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. Nobody, however, owns it in reality.
The freshwater lake, with an area of 6.59 square miles, still attracts about 200 to 300 visitors every week, especially in the summer. However, there is hardly any facility for visitors. The old huts are in poor shape and the new ones set up by the SWD could not be made functional for want of electricity. Besides, there is no sweeper or dustbins at the site.
“It’s wrong to blame visitors for the wrongdoings since we are not helping them in any way. There are no toilets and we have no choice but to let visitors use the restrooms in the SWD information centre. Visitors also complain that there is no canteen here,” says an SWD employee posted at the lake.
In the absence of any service for visitors, what people have been doing at the sanctuary is deplorable. One can see a large number of trees with hollow trunks that were burnt while being used as a fireplace. “This was a past practice. Now we have set up a few concrete fireplaces around the lake and this practice is being checked,” said an SWD staffer when questioned about the destruction of trees.
This reporter could not get any written material about the lake in the information centre. Even the stuffed species in the museum were not named. There were no trained guides and one had to depend on the half-baked knowledge of SWD staff that seemed powerless to check any violations of the sanctuary. Pointing out the reasons for poor management, SWD staff accused the irrigation department of not releasing enough water into the lake, which resulted in the acute decline of the number of migratory birds. About the weaknesses on their part, a staffer said: “There is an acute shortage of staff and those who work are ill-equipped to perform efficiently. How can you protect the whole sanctuary without any logistic support?”
It was surprising to see that certain species of ducks and a crocodile were kept in enclosures at the sanctuary, supposed to be an open breeding place. Of the eight baby crocodiles placed in the enclosures, only one remains. Others have escaped through a narrow opening inside the enclosure, a staffer revealed. There was also concern about the huge population of an exotic snail accidentally introduced into the lake. Nobody knows what impact it had caused on the lake’s biodiversity.
Environmentalists, who have been warning about the deteriorating conditions of the lake, now believe that time is up for the lake. “The lake is fast dying. The ongoing digging for the LBOD has accelerated the process of degradation caused by reduced supplies of fresh water and high rate of evaporation,” said Jehangir Durrani, an expert of the World Wide Fund for Nature working at the Keenjhar Lake.
According to an SWD official, the water level is hardly nine feet now and what little water is being supplied is often pilfered by landlords.
When contacted, Saeed Baloch, deputy conservator of wildlife, Hyderabad division, said the SWD staff worked hard to ensure the sanctity of the place and people were fined for violations, but 100 per cent output should not be expected with the limited resources the department has.
“The lake area is big, surrounded by 20 to 25 villages having a total population of around 8,000. There is also pressure from visitors. To cater to that, only eight people are posted at the lake. There is no doubt that we need more support and facilities to protect the wildlife sanctuary,” he said, adding that angling was allowed, but boat fishing was banned in the lake.
He insisted that information brochures existed at the SWD centre.
When asked about the reduced water supplies, chief engineer of the Kotri barrage, Manzoor Sheikh, said: “Our first priority is to supply water to the Keenjhar Lake, as it is a source of drinking water for Karachi, and then it meets our agricultural needs. We are already facing water shortage and the lake is supplied water only when it is in surplus.”
It is important to mention here that a great opportunity of reviving Haleji Lake’s past glory was lost when the government started a project to raise the embankments of the Keenjhar Lake in order to increase its capacity for supplies to Karachi. The project is under process these days.
Environmentalists believe that a better option would have been restoring the previous status of the Haleji Lake that once served as a sweet water source to Karachi as the project of raising Keenjhar Lake’s embankments would have adverse ecological impact on the surrounding villages.
Asked why this option was not considered, the Kotri barrage chief engineer said: “the Keenjhar Lake project is my brainchild. I was asked to make a project to increase the lake’s capacity, which I did. Haleji Lake was not in my terms of reference. The KWSB should have thought about it. We are in the process of launching another project to save the villages around Keenjhar Lake from the effects of seepage.” Source Dawn http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/08/local2.htm
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Release of Pakistani fishermen in limbo
By Jan Khaskheli
After fresh tension between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks, the release of detained Pakistani fishermen may be delayed further, fear fisherfolk.
Pakistan had released 199 Indian fishermen few days back as a good will gesture, expecting the neighbouring country to release Pakistani fishermen in return. The PFF spokesman, being a member of World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP), confirmed that India had agreed to release Pakistani fishermen, many of them languishing in different jails for the last many years. But their is uncertainty on this matter now.
Pakistan fishermen activists are still unaware about the boat, carrying seven crew members, which had been seized by the Indian coastal security forces from open sea recently.
The activists say fishermen residing at the remote islands and coastal areas of Thatta do not have access to communication resources, therefore, they usually leave their areas without guidance and infringe neighbouring country’s waters where they are caught by the security forces. “We are still trying to ascertain where the victims are from, when they left the jetty and how they were trapped. But we assume that they might belong to Thatta fishermen families,” says a spokesman of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF).
Pakistan fishermen families, residing in Karachi, Thatta and Badin districts are facing uncertainty after the Mumbai incident and are reluctant to leave their traditional jetties located along the coastal villages for open sea. Information collected by The News through talking to the area activists reveal that whenever such incidents occur in India, Pakistani fishermen being frequent visitors of seawater dividing boundaries of both the countries face disturbance. Since the Indian media was propagating that the terrorists reached there by sea, the Pakistani fishermen are facing insecurity as they believe that if they go there the neighbouring country’s border security forces may target them.
The PFF Chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah said at least 18 fishermen were killed by Indian security forces since 1988 up till now. Now travelling to open sea is a risky job for the community, as there is no visible demarcation in the water the fishermen cross border inadvertently. The security forces deployed there arrest them instantly, accusing them of violating sea territory.
Fishermen are even hesitant to reach Kajir Creek, the Pakistani sea area, situated before the Sir Creek, because of the mounting tension, said PFF spokesman. Asif Bhatti, President Boat Owners and Bona fide Fishermen Welfare Association said fishermen go into the open sea because there are no fish stocks left near their localities. “We being representative of island fishermen have conveyed the message to the community to not go for a catch till the situation is declared normal,” Bhatti added. Source The News International http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=151149
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KPT is trying to displace fishermen: PFF
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) has accused Karachi Port Trust (KPT) authorities of threatening local fishermen residing in coastal area falling near Shireen Jinnah Colony to vacate the land.
According to the PFF spokesman, the KPT personnel had removed fishing boats from the old jetty, claiming the land is owned by the trust and asked fishermen to leave the area instantly. On Wednesday, hundreds of fishermen led by the PFF representatives Muhammad Aslam, Majeed Motani and Sami Memon staged a protest demonstration near the jetty against the injustice and demanded of the government to take immediate action against this activity.
A week ago, the PFF spokesman said, the KPT security personnel had verbally notified the fishermen of the colony for removing their boats from the shoreline. On Tuesday, under the guidance of the KPT, security officer along with bulldozers attacked the jetty, threatened and harassed the fishermen at and tried to break boats and take away their nets, he added.
The fishermen protested to save their only means of livelihoods and chanted slogans against the atrocities of the KPT personnel. The protestors said on one side the government is claiming to provide employment and resources to unemployed masses while on the other hand are destroying livelihoods of fishermen. Moreover, the protestors said the KPT authorities are not entitled to sell out coastal lands of indigenous fishermen to foreign companies. The PFF statement allegedly said the KPT has planned a billion-dollar project near the jetty, depriving fishermen of their source of living.
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=150508
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Authorities continue turning a blind eye to garbage incineration around residential areas
By M. Waqar Bhatti
A thick cloud of smoke and a stench of burning garbage greet motorists entering the Korangi Expressway and the causeway that leads to the Korangi Industrial Area. The foul atmosphere is a product of the illegal practice of throwing and burning hundreds of tonnes of garbage in an area that is surrounded by residential colonies of Qayyumabad and Akhtar Colony. This activity is being carried out with the consent of all civic and regulatory authorities, who have turned a blind eye towards this blatant violation of law.
Meanwhile, The News has learnt that the environment department of the Sindh government is also aware of the practice, as the Sindh Secretary for Environment reportedly travels on the Korangi Expressway and is perhaps aware that smoke from the smouldering garbage reduces visibility on the road, even in daylight.
When contacted by The News, provincial secretary environment, Mir Hussain Ali, who has also served as DCO Karachi in the recent past, admitted that the practice of dumping and burning garbage on the Malir riverbed was “illegal” but feels that in order to stop the act, identification of culprits should be the first step.
“There are a lot of agencies including towns, City District Government Karachi (CDGK) departments and cantonment boards active in the area, and I think it is the responsibility of the Works and Services Department of the CDGK to check and stop the illegal practice” he observed.
When asked why his department couldn’t take up the issue, as burning of hundreds of tonnes of garbage was also an environmental issue, he nodded in affirmation and stated that they could also take up the issue, and “tomorrow” they will look into it to ascertain “what can be done in this regard”.
City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal, said that the issue had been brought to his knowledge and he had issued directives accordingly. “If the practice is still continuing, it is unacceptable because something like this should not be happening in the first place,” he added.
The Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), which is another stakeholder in the issue, meanwhile claims that it is tired of making requests to authorities to stop this practice, adding that they have said that they are no longer concerned with the Korangi Expressway.
KATI President Fazl-e-Jalil added that they had approached “everybody” regarding this issue but the Town administration of Jamshed Town was unmoved and paid no heed to requests made by them and the residents of the area to stop dumping and burning their litter on the Malir riverbed. Mr Jalil said that he would make yet another attempt and write a letter to DCO Karachi and talk to Nazim Mustafa Kamal.
Jalil was also critical of Jamshed Town Nazim, Javed Ahmed, stating: “The Town Nazim is playing with the lives of people and he should immediately curb this illegal act. In the rainy season, this garbage would seep into our area as well as the sea, thereby polluting the seawater and endangering marine life,” he maintained. The Jamshed Town Nazim, Javed Ahmed, could not be approached for comment despite repeated attempts, while the town’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) said that only the Town Nazim could comment on the issue.
Nasarul Islam Usmani, an environmentalist who often travels on the Korangi Expressway to get to work, claims that in the evening, the smoke reduces visibility on the road to a large extent and also causes suffocation. “Thick clouds of smoke from litter burning and their odour can result in fatal accidents on this highway. It is an extremely dangerous practice on the part of the civic authorities and they would have to be blamed for any loss of life and health hazards,” he said.
Usmani, who holds an MSc in Environmental Science and working at a waste treatment plant in the Korangi Industrial Area, termed the burning of municipal waste in a densely-populated area as “the height of civic neglect and a crime against citizens.”
He added: “The smoke emitting from the burning of domestic and market waste normally produces CO2, CO, as well as poisonous gasses like dioxin and hydrogen cyanide, which are highly carcinogenic (cancer-causing substances).”
According to physicians, prolonged exposure to smoke from the domestic waste can result in serious damage to the respiratory tract as well as the central nervous system of human beings. They claim that inhaling smoke for a long period can result in the accumulation of carbon in the respiratory tract and lungs and could cause asthma, cancer and other fatal diseases, especially among children and the elderly. Source http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=150142
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Old Khadda falling prey to ‘development politics’
By Jan Khaskheli
Karachi’s first fishing market, Khadda Market, was established much before the development of the Karachi Fish Harbour (KFH). Entering the now dilapidated streets of the old Khadda, one invariably encounters fisherfolk engaged in repairing tattered fishing nets along streets, open places and community centers. While seemingly engrossed in mundane activities, most fisherfolk families have much to contemplate as development politics have forced them to make a choice between their traditional life styles and the financial gains on offer if they cave in to ‘development politics’.
The ambivalence stems from the fact that the land mafia active in the area, who have created agents within the fisherfolk community, are trying to convince families through these agents that they should sell their little plots of land for the construction of apartment complexes of four to five storeys. As part of the negotiations, some families have also been offered apartments in the complexes that would be constructed on their ancestors’ plots.
Despite living amidst the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, most fisherfolk in the old Khadda have firmly adhered to the lifestyles of their forefathers. The communities residing in Khadda are now divided into several groups: the bigger Karachia jamaat, Lara jamaat, Wangora jamaat, Bundri jamaat, Noorani jamaat and Dhorai jamaat. Each group has its own leaders representing them at the local level.
As is the tradition, boys are sent to fish with their fathers instead of sending them to schools, as fisherfolk believe that their successors would otherwise waste their lives wandering in the streets or sitting idle at home. Most children work as apprentices when they start. After a few months, they receive a 25 per cent share in the earnings from the catch, which increases incrementally to 50 per cent.
An old fisherman, affectionately known as Chacha Ali, aged around 70, narrated blissful memories of the past, but added that the community is now facing a difficult situation. He said that he had witnessed prosperous days long ago, which he believes will never return.
Sitting at the Karachia jamaat office, another man named Haji Rashid reminisced about the past and said that about 25 or 30 years ago, there were only indigenous fisherfolk living together and deriving their livelihoods from the sea. They were happy with little catch, but ever since outsiders became involved in the sector, the local fisherfolk started facing problems as fish reservoirs became severely depleted due to over fishing, he said. “It is the so-called fisherfolk leaders who have divided us into groups. They do not want to unite the community to raise its voice effectively on a single platform,” said Rashid.
Not only is the area devoid of any affluent opportunities, but the Khadda vicinity is also run down. Being a low-lying area with a faulty sewerage system, the old Khadda is annually assaulted by monsoon rains which turn the streets into sewage ponds, creating problems for the residents for many days. Residents claimed that concerned authorities have no interest in resolving the problems of this area.
The offers of the agents are irresistible. A decline in fish catch has forced a majority of the community to stay idle at home, but eager contractors and their local agents are constructing high rise apartments. In such a situation, only a few small houses can be found in the locality, while huge apartments have cropped up and forced the remaining community to engage certain builders to establish their homes, because they themselves are unable to build in the current scenario.
This trend has forced a majority of fisherfolk to live in isolation and insecurity. After purchasing flats in the same building, locals often have to deal with harsh behaviour of those who have purchased or rented apartments. Some also claim that the recent development in the area may even push the fisherfolk to migrate to other places, as the families are accustomed to living care-free lives in open spaces – something they cannot enjoy in the growing congestion. Currently the open, small homes of the community have been almost completely hidden by high-rise buildings.
Activists in support of the fisherfolk say this form of “development politics” has forced hundreds of fisherfolk families to live by the seashore, depriving them of their traditional villages and landing sites. Long ago Native Jetty was the main landing site for the fisherfolk of Khadda and Lyari neighbourhood. According to activists, ‘well-dressed’ people within the community are involved in the business of exploiting the poor by inviting contractors. They build apartments on plots, offer a small house to the real owner and mint money by selling entire homes to willing people.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah claimed that this is a common phenomenon being witnessed across all communities living in coastal villages or on neighbouring islands. Shah added that the fisherfolk communities are all thinking and acting in a similar fashion. They are not getting involved in politics and are ignoring their children’s education. Instead, they are solely engaged in fishing, or meeting at their homes, tea stalls or street corners to discuss boats and the problems of the fishing season.
He said that previously, when the catch was sufficient to earn a living, the fisherfolk were restricting their children from getting an education, preferring that their offspring join a traditional occupation rather than becoming a clerk or taking up other low-grade jobs. Most fisherfolk believed that the share they were receiving through a catch was more than they could earn in the form of a monthly salary. The community is still sticking to this approach, rejecting job opportunities in factories or government departments.
Abuzer Mariwala, the advisor to Fisherfolk Cooperative Society (FCS) acknowledges the plight of the fisherfolk, and says it is happening because the poor people do not have any options. They have been living in the ramshackle homes built by their forefathers 70—80 years ago. Now after shifting to small flats, the fisherfolk face many problems such as where to keep their fishing nets and other tools.
Talking about the Dispensary and Maternity Home, a RS 6.4 million project launched in 2003, Mariwala said after the change in government the project has been in limbo. He said that he initiated a proposal to the Sindh government to establish a housing scheme for the Khadda fisherfolk families at another place because now the people are living in congestion. He claims that the government has assured him that they will look into the matter favourably. Source http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=150138
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WE are killing the planet and ourselves in the process. Citing a 2006 World Bank study, the Sindh environment minister said at a seminar in Karachi on Saturday that pollution is causing some 25,000 deaths a year in Pakistan and costing the country roughly six per cent of its GDP. Needless to say, it is the poorest of the poor that are hit hardest by this toxic assault on our day-to-day lives. It is the poor who are forced to live in areas that nobody else finds desirable, where factories discharge fumes and effluent that would make people of a more genteel upbringing recoil. And within the ranks of the poor it is young children and women, who don’t get the lion’s share of the daily meal and are exposed to the pollution for almost 24 hours a day, who are most at risk of falling ill. It boggles the mind that successive governments have failed so abysmally in enforcing laws that exist on the books but are flouted at will.
Greed comes into it but that is hardly the full story. More to blame is a callous disregard for human welfare and the assumption that the poor can make do with circumstances that the rich wouldn’t wish on their worst enemies. Adopting environment-friendly practices would cost an industrialist a negligible fraction of his overall profits. Yet he doesn’t do so. Why? Because he doesn’t care. The factory owner is also secure in the knowledge that officials of the provincial environmental protection agencies can be threatened or bribed into submission. Fertiliser companies owned by the armed forces have violated environmental laws in Sindh on more than one occasion but the incidents have been brushed aside and the cases never taken to their logical conclusion. Fines, even on the rare occasion when they are applied, are so absurdly low that an industrialist could pay them 20 times a year without really feeling the pinch. It doesn’t take rocket science to deduce that the productivity of a workforce that inhales toxic fumes, lacks basic sanitation and drinks contaminated water can never be optimal. Our healthcare system is cash-strapped as it is. It can do with fewer patients. http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/02/ed.htm
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By Shahid Javed Burki
THE Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington has taken considerable interest in policymaking in Pakistan. The centre serves as a living memorial to President Woodrow Wilson who served the US when it was consolidating its position as an emerging global power.
Rather than erect a concrete structure on the Mall as the Americans had been doing for their beloved presidents, the US Congress decided to set up a public-policy institution in his memory.
Lee Hamilton, a former and influential Congressman presides over the institution. He was one of the two authors of the Iraq Study Group (James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush was the other). Under Hamilton’s leadership Pakistan is among the centre’s focus countries.
Over the last several months the centre has organised a series of workshops on some of the more important economic and social issues Pakistan needs to resolve if it is to make progress. To date conferences have been held on education, trade and energy. The seminar proceedings are published as short books by the centre. They have become instant ‘best-sellers’ (the books are distributed free of charge) in the policy community that constitutes the think tanks in Washington and Boston and the university towns in between as well as on the West Coast.
The most recent workshop of the Pakistani series was held on Nov 20 and the subject for discussion was water — how the availability of this precious resource was now under strain; how small changes in personal behaviour and big actions by the government could ease the growing constraint on supply; why misguided policies adopted by the state in the past had misallocated water to users that did not benefit society or the economy; how important it was to recognise that the way water was collected, stored and used affected women’s economic and social lives; and how pervasive corruption among the officials responsible for managing water supply and apportioning its use among different users was hurting the poor in the countryside and in towns and cities.
The key note at the workshop was given by Karachi’s Simi Kamal. It was a wide-ranging presentation in which all issues that were of concern to the speakers and the attendees were well articulated. Two things impressed me with the way Ms Kamal handled her assignment. She was of the view that Pakistani society was now handling the issue of water in many small ways. This was generating new ideas about efficient use and conservation.
For instance, it was becoming popular to capture Karachi’s humidity as water, thus compensating for the city’s lack of rain. These approaches were forcing governments at different levels — at the level of the districts, the provinces and the federation — to incorporate some of these ideas into public policy. Grass-roots organisations had entered the area where action was stymied by provincial politics.
The quarrel over claims to water on the part of the provinces figured prominently in many of the presentations. Water politics had prevented the adoption of efficient policies for conserving and using water, a subject to which I will return near the end of this article.
I chaired one of the four sessions at the conference. Three speakers presented papers. They discussed the way water was being used in the countryside; how water-sparing technologies such as drip irrigation could optimise the use of this scarce resource in the sector of agriculture; and how the lives of women were being affected in the country’s mountainous areas by forest degradation and climate change.
The discussion at the workshop raised two issues in which economics could play a role to clarify one problem and possibly solve the other. I will begin with the continuing debate in the country about the capacity of the people to pay for water.
Feisal Khan in his presentation provided some interesting data on how the government’s inability to charge the farmers the real price of water meant a progressive deterioration in the quality of the irrigation system that took hundreds of years to build. He provided data that showed that the amount of money the government collected by levying a water charge (abiana) had progressively declined.
The decline was precipitous in the 1970s when Islamabad, Punjab and Sindh were governed by popularly elected governments. At the same time corruption had increased and, according to him, top jobs in the departments of irrigation were being sold to the highest bidders for large sums of money. He knew of some fieldwork according to which corruption cost the farmer Rs30,000 per year while the abiana had declined to only Rs160 per hectare.
What this shows is that the poor farmer is willing to pay but what he pays goes into the pockets of the corrupt officials rather than to the government exchequer. Since the rich are politically well-connected, it would be hard to collect money from them. In other words, corruption works as a regressive tax, by burdening the poor while generally sparing the rich. There is one other economic consequence of the impact of corruption. Since the corrupt officials work and live in towns and cities, water-sector corruption results in transferring incomes from the rural to the urban areas.
The other issue where economics could come to the rescue of the state is in contributing to the solution of the inter-provincial rivalry concerning water rights and the distribution of water. I would suggest that the federal government determine the total value of water that flows through the river system. This amount should be apportioned among the provinces on the basis of their current use. This would establish a benchmark. Deviations from these will need to be compensated.
The provinces should pay for withdrawing additional water from the system. Trading should be allowed among the provinces. If there are departures from the current use, those who add to their use should pay those who would lose since the amount of water in the system is essentially finite.
For instance, putting a value on water will result in a different kind of discourse among the provinces. Sindh may wish to pay a considerable amount of money to re-establish fishing in the Indus delta and to regenerate the mangrove forests. Punjab would begin to see that the cultivation of sugarcane does not make economic and financial sense for the province. Punjab may want to sell some of its water rights to Sindh reflecting the value the two provinces would put on its use. http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/02/ed.htm#4
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