APROPOS Faiza Ilyas’s report ‘Giant blue whale spotted with calf off Churna Island’ (Sept 15). Blue whales, the largest mammals known to man, are high on the list of endangered species.

Several studies carried out previously show that the island provides conducive habitat for coral reefs. It has a thriving ecosystem, a basking and feeding area for marine species such as whales, whale-sharks, baleen whales and ocean sunfish

Last year there were scores of sightings of such mega fauna which are attracted by the biodiversity of Churna island for feeding. The island has also become a centre for scuba diving and snorkeling. Hundreds of poor fishermen living in Mubarak village depend on it for fishing.

All this is threatened by the proposal by an NGO to build a liquefied natural gas terminal near the island (EOS, Sept 10).

The construction and operation of the LNG terminal will destroy the biodiversity of the island.

At the convention of biological diversity in 2010, Pakistan agreed to declare 10pc of its coastal area as protected by 2020. If the government declares Churna island as protected, it will be just the second marine protected area after Astola Island, together comprising only two per cent of the coast.

The LNG terminal must not be built near the Churna island and it must be declared a marine-protected area.

Samina Asif

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2017