THATTA: Climate change-induced risks of sea erosion affecting the coastal areas of the country and a plan for risk management were reviewed at a consultative workshop held at Makli Gymkhana on Saturday.

The workshop was organised by the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It was attended by officials of the Thatta, Sujawal and Badin district administrations and representatives from civil society, media organisations and the local communities.Thatta additional Deputy Commissioner-I Abid Saleem Qureshi appreciated the IUCN initiative and stressed the need for adopting a coordinated approach to address various issues of climate change impact in the coastal areas. He called for research on the impact and linkage between the institutions conducting the research works and the coastal management authorities was well as civil society organisations at the provincial and district levels.

A coastal erosion management plan is being prepared under a project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the coordinating body of the Seas of East Asia in collaboration with the National Partners in Thailand and Pakistan, according to Syed Ghulam Qadir Shah, the national coordinator of the Mangroves for the Future Initiative.

He informed the audience that in the climate change division in Islamabad was the national focal agency supervising the preparation of the plan through the IUCN.

The participants in the workshop recommended ensuring an adequate flow of freshwater along the coastal belt; integration of plans for checking sea erosion; EIAs (environmental impact assessment) of mega development projects; reforestation of mangroves; strengthening of vulnerable protection embankments, etc.

Endorsing the recommendations, former director-general of the meteorological department Dr Qamaruz Zamman Chaudhry spelled out the policy and measures for controlling coastal erosion.

He said that after the district-level consultations in Sindh and Balochistan, a national-level consultation workshop would be organised to finalise the recommendations for a sea erosion management plan.

Published in Dawn, August 31st , 2014