March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

KARACHI, March 24: The Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) has stopped “illegal exploration activities” being carried out by the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) in wildlife protected areas, it has been reliably learnt.

Sources said the OGDC was carrying out preliminary surveys / seismic operations in Ghotki, Sukkur and Kashmore districts without getting mandatory permission from the SWD and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa). Though the corporation had been allocated two blocks – Thal and Tegani – in upper Sindh by the petroleum ministry for oil and gas exploration, the OGDC never obtained mandatory permission from the SWD and Sepa, the sources said.

It is worth noting that before carrying out exploration activities in ecologically sensitive areas, the organisations interested in oil and gas exploration have to follow the laws of the land and get approval from the SWD and Sepa. The organisations have to follow a separate set of relatively stringent laws, including the one on Environmental Impact Assessment, if the allocated blocks comprise areas such as wildlife sanctuaries or national parks.

After evaluating the EIA report, Sepa either issues the NOC for carrying out exploration with or without conditions or does not issue the permission depending on the ecological sensitivity of the area and nature of the proposed operations and mitigation measures.

The sources said Thal Block comprising areas of Sukkur and Ghotki districts was included in the Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, which was protected under the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance and where such commercial activities were not allowed.

The sources said that OGDC had started 2D seismic operations in both blocks last year without fulfilling the regulatory requirements of EIA under Section 12 of Sepa and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Authority (Pepa) Acts and getting the mandatory permissions from the SWD.

After getting the reports from its field staff about the activities being carried out by the OGDC, the SWD did not allow the operation to continue in 2007. However, the sources said, the OGDC did not get the mandatory permission even afterwards and established its base camps in the blocks a few weeks back to carry out 3D seismic activities.

A couple of weeks back, they said, the OGDC started carrying out a preliminary survey in Tegani Block regarding the seismic operations within the Dolphin Reserve in violation of Section 12 of the Pepa Act. To carry out preliminary survey for 3D seismic activities in Thal Block, the corporation set up a camp in the wildlife protected area in the beginning of February again in violation of the Pepa Act.

Responding to Dawn queries, the deputy conservator of SWD, Sukkur, Hussain Bakhsh Bhaagat, said the OGDC was carrying out the seismic activities in the Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary and Dolphin Game Reserve without following the legal requirements. He added that such exploration activities were illegal.

He said he visited the OGDC’s camps a few days back and witnessed the ongoing activities. The corporation was asked to immediately stop the work in the protected area as it did not have the required permissions.

“The work has been stopped now,” he said, adding that this was the second time that the OGDC carried out its activities in the protected areas. Earlier, the SWD had stopped exploration work in 2007.

The OGDC’s environment department chief, Nadeem Ansari, told Dawn that at present the OGDC was not carrying out any work in the protected areas. He said that the OGDC would conduct the EIA study and start work only after getting the necessary approvals from the relevant departments. He said the OGDC would follow all the government rules and laws as it was a responsible organisation.

In reply to a question, Sepa director-general Ali Ahmad Lund said that the question of giving permission to the OGDC for carrying out work in the protected area could not arise as the corporation had not submitted the EIA report. He said that if the EIA report was submitted, it would be evaluated by getting inputs from all the stakeholders and the final decision would be taken only after completion of all legal formalities.

He made it clear that Sepa did not stop OGDC’s activities in the protected area. He explained that the SWD had asked Sepa if the OGDC had been given permission to carry out work in the protected areas. The SWD was subsequently informed that no such permission had been given to the OGDC. After this the SWD stopped the exploration activities being carried out by the corporation a few days back, he concluded.