KARACHI, May 16: Around 230 students and teachers of the City Government schools participated in the beach cleaning and mangrove plantation activity at the Sandspit Beach under an ongoing series of programmes to observe the World Earth Day.

The event, organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Pakistan), in collaboration with ICI-Pakistan was participated by the students from Jamshed Ahmed Khan School, Saddar Town II, Gulistan School, Lyari Town and the Eidgah School, Saddar Town.

The students cleaned about a three kilometre stretch of the Sandspit, a recreational site, frequented by thousands of visitors, who generally drop litter at the beach, causing grave threat to the endangered species of marine turtles.

The students collected no less than 160 bags of garbage under the scorching sun, with a hope to provide safe nesting habitat to the much threatened turtles. The litter at the beach mainly includes plastic objects, which do not decompose and since the material looks like jelly fish to the turtles, intake of the same can kill them.

The cleaning activity was followed by mangrove plantation exercise and some 60 volunteers planted 100 nursery-raised saplings of Avecennia marina, locally known as Timar.

The mangroves play a very important role in maintaining balance in bio-diversity, besides providing feeding, breeding and nursery grounds for commercially important prawn, crab and several other fish species.

Dr Ejaz Ahmed, Deputy Director-General, WWF-Pakistan, briefing the participants about the mission of the WWF, highlighted the significance of the Earth Day, importance of mangrove forests in the eco-system and the hazards of extinction of endangered species.

Reminding that year 2003 was being celebrated as Year of Water, he stressed on the importance of water management and conservation at different levels.

Manager Communications, ICI Pakistan, Liaquat Siddiq, appreciated the WWF for its efforts to conserve nature and natural resources.

He said that beach cleaning and mangrove plantation were important for creating public awareness regarding the conservation and protection of wildlife as well as for environment.—APP