KARACHI: Mangroves are being destroyed on a large scale on the pretext of development projects but there is little action on the part of the government to protect the mangroves, said speakers at a programme held on Wednesday.

The consultation meeting on the protection and conservation of mangroves was organised by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF).

Starting off the day’s proceedings, PFF senior manager Mustafa Gurgaze said about 604,870 hectares were found to be covered with mangroves in 1932. That area, he said, was reduced to 480,000 hectares in 1984 and then mangroves were recorded only on 86,000 hectares in 2005. Currently, they were estimated to be over 70,000 hectares.

In his opinion, the destruction of mangroves meant disaster for fishermen as these forests, among other benefits, contributed greatly to production of fisheries and acted as natural barrier against strong wave and wind action.

“There are about 895 villages along the 350-km-long provincial coastline, including 129-km-long Karachi coast, where mangrove forests are fast declining, thereby increasing vulnerability of fishermen to natural disasters,” he said.

He referred to a number of projects either in progress or to be launched along the coast for which the government had allowed the destruction of mangroves.

“A private company has uprooted mangroves for the construction of a bridge and walkway in the Port Qasim area. Then there are plans to establish an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal in the same area. Oil and chemical manufacturing companies also uproot mangroves at whim,” he added.

Another worrisome development, according to Mr Gurgaze, was government decision to allot 200 acres of coastal land to a Chinese company in the Port Qasim Area to establish coal-fired power plant along with a coal jetty and a ship channel. This project, he said, would spell disaster for the area’s ecology. The government, he said, had also allotted another 200 acres to a Qatar-based company for another power project in the same area.

He also mentioned areas of Machhar Colony and Sandspit under the Karachi Port Trust where mangroves had been destroyed.

“The PFF held protests against mangrove destruction and even went to court on whose order a vigilance committee was set up to keep a check on the damage to coastal forests. Though the committee has held meetings over this issue, the situation on the ground remains unchanged,” he said.

Akhtar Javed representing Port Qasim said that a wrong impression was being projected in the media regarding the upcoming coal-fired plant and that the area where the project had been initiated had no mangroves.

KPT representive Fayyaz Rasul said the organisation was doing its best within its resources to prevent degradation of the mangroves, but there were certain ‘limitations’.

Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, who was chief guest, gave assurance to the fishing communities that the government would take steps to address their concerns.

He also referred to a recently launched campaign under which 300,000 saplings would be planted in the city. He said the drive was launched at the coastal area of Mubarak Village and said the government was committed to beautify the city.

However, Mohammed Moazzam Khan representing the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan criticised initiatives on part of some organisations which had planted mangroves on mudflats instead of growing them in areas from where they were uprooted.

Conservator Agha Tahir of the Sindh forest department, Additional Secretary for Sindh Inland Fisheries Ghulam Mujtaba Wadhar, Munawar Hussain of Pakistan Coast Guards, deputy commissioners Mustafa Jamal Kazi and Zubair Channa, PFF chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah and advocate Qazi Ather also spoke.