KARACHI, June 28: The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency would hold a public hearing to determine the environmental impact assessment for drilling of exploratory well in the Sindh Protected Areas of the Dumbar block located in Southwestern Sindh on July 9.

Official sources said that the SEPA had received an impact- assessment report regarding the proposed drilling projects likely to commence by July 2002, and comments were sought from the people and other stake-holders. The public hearing would be held at the SEPA office.

It was learnt that the Dumbar-1 well is to be drilled at the base of the Dumbar ridge in Kirthar National Park. The proposed activities have been categorized broadly as construction, drilling, restoration and rehabilitation.

The construction activities would entail development of the access road, preparation of the drilling site and camp establishment. In case the well is dry, the site would be abandoned and restored, stated an executive summary of the EIA.

The KNP, where the project area is located, is primarily composed of limestone and sandstone formations. There are no major sources of air pollution in the vicinity, but the traffic on the dirty roads causes some dust emissions with localized effect.

The small mammal species recorded from the project area included Cairo spiny mouse, five-striped palm squirrel, Indian gerbil, Indian desert jird, mouse-tailed bat, Indian pangolin and others. Except for Calomyscus Bailwardi, listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List (2000), none of these species are protected under any provincial, national or international law, added the EIA report.

Referring to the socioeconomic environment, the report says that approximately 10 per cent of the houses in the main settlement of the project area, Deh Taung in Thana Bula Khan Tehsil, may be termed “pucca”, i.e. made of stone walls and iron girders. The remaining are “kutcha” and made of wood, mud and straw. Most families in Taung are settled in a scattered manner on the land they cultivate.

The livelihood of the populace depends mainly on rain-fed agriculture and rearing of livestock. The heritage sites of historical importance have also been found in the project area.

Public meetings and focus group discussions yield good sense towards the project and the placement of responsibility on the oil-exploring firm to ensure that the project benefits are distributed judiciously and equitably, specially among the primary stake-holders in the KNP, i.e. communities and wildlife department.

It was also emphasized that local villagers should be preferred for employment on various project-related works and activities. The area people also favoured the idea of retaining the tracks, which would be upgraded and constructed as part of the proposed project.

The wildlife department of Sindh pointed out to the project consultants that forage and water be provided to any displaced ungulates of the area, and adequate attention be paid to other life forms of the national park, such as mammals, reptiles and avifaua.

The mitigation measures regarding adverse geophysical impacts included minimized vegetation clearing and no felling of trees in the area. Steep cut and fill would be avoided where the risk of slope failure is high, while the retaining wall would be constructed where necessary, added the EIA report.

The project would require 33,000 cubic metres water, which has been supposed to be extracted from the existing tube well that the exploring firm installed near Taung. The company has prepared a plan regarding mitigation of impacts associated with water extraction, which wound be incorporated in the design of the project.

The primary source of gaseous emissions generated by the project activities would include diesel-engine driven generators. To avoid any deterioration of air-quality in the vicinity, it has been suggested, among other measures, that camp sites and the well site would be selected at least 500 metres away from any settlements, the flare pit would be kept downwind of the well site and the access route would be aligned in such a way that it remained at least 500 metres from the settlements.

The potential short-term impact of the proposed project on the local population included shortage of water, loss of agriculture land and crops, influx of migrant labour, inequitable distribution of employment opportunities, noise disturbance, light pollution, health issues and safety hazards, which would be mitigated through various measures, claimed the report.