March 09, 2008	Sunday	Safar 30, 1429

KARACHI, March 8: Speakers and participants of a seminar on Saturday opposed coastline projects, saying that development and construction aimed under such projects would not only add to human suffering but also cause further irreparable damage to the flora and fauna of the ecologically sensitive areas.

A common understanding developed among the organisers and participants of the seminar, who had come from different sections of civil society, that the waterfront constructions for commercial purposes in the name of expansion of the city might cause massive displacement and unemployment of the fishermen community, while on the other hand further migration of people in a large number to Karachi would put an extra burden on the city already starving for energy and water resources and other basics, including transport and law order system.

At the end of the seminar, titled ‘Our coastline under threat’, organised by NGOs Shehri and Dharti -- a coalition of civil society organisations, it was resolved with majority votes that the government must frame master plans for the coastal areas to preserve them for future generations, avoid commercial exploitation of coastal areas, ensure free access to the shores, and not to compromise on the rights of the local fishing communities along the coast under any circumstance.

A consensus was also reached that environmental impact assessment and public hearing should be held in the case of all ongoing waterfront development projects. Sustainable development must be distributed uniformly across the geographical space, rather than being concentrated along the coast, it was further resolved.

In their presentations, the speakers mostly took cue from a project that was proposed by the federal government in 2006 with the objective to sell and privatise a significant portion of Karachi coastline in the west to some foreign parties.

However, at some later stage the participants were also informed that the massive waterfront development project now appeared to be on the backburner and it now depended on the coming government whether to toe the idea.

The government planned to offer about 40,000 acres along the coast, while it had got its own land mass only around 19,000 acres and as such it was obvious that the remaining lands would be acquired from communities living in the Sandspit and Hawkesbay areas.

Arif Belgaumi of the Institute of Architects Pakistan emphasised that if the waterfront project involving a Dubai party materialised, it would become a coastal city of unprecedented size, and ultimately cause collateral damages and environmental deterioration. The city should not be allowed to grow in an unmanageable proportion, he remarked.

Farhan Anwar of Shehri emphasised the preservation of waterfronts and maintained that coastal lands of Karachi, including Hawkesbay and Sandspit, were environmentally sensitive areas and had specific value for its sea plants and other habitats.

Dr Ejaz Ahmad, deputy director-general of the WWF -- Pakistan, said that efforts should be made to save the treasure of nature. The areas of Sandspit and Hawkesbay are rich in biodiversity, including marine mammals and terrestrial mammals, he said, adding that among other things Karachi harbour could be at risk due to change in the water regime.

Mohammad Hussain of the Pakistan Mahigir Tahreek said that a conspiracy was being hatched in the name of waterfront projects against the local population along the coast, who were already deprived of many basic facilities and faced shrinking jobs. Roland de Souza, Ambar Ali Bhai, Aqil Bilgrami, Barrister Naeemur Rehman, Danish Dubash, Mohammad Ali Shah and Naila also spoke during the question-answer session. A video presentation was made by the Sindh Participatory Organisation.