KARACHI, June 28: Speakers at a seminar stressed that over 260,000 acres of coastal wasteland be converted into mangrove forests so that not only the fisheries sector could improve but land erosion and sea incursion could also be checked.

They were speaking at a national seminar on the Indus Delta mangrove Ecosystem organised by the Sindh Forests Department and Federal Ministry of Environment on Wednesday.

The speakers said that such steps would not only improve the conditions of the coastal communities but the economy of the country would also benefit greatly.

They said that some of the major threats being faced by the mangroves were urban and industrial pollution, cutting for fuel wood and fodder, camel grazing, oil spills and dredging operations and it was necessary that the government’s conservation policies were implemented honestly with the cooperation of the coastal communities so that the fragile mangrove ecosystem could be saved.

The speakers deplored that the mangroves besides the sea water also needed fresh water to survive, but unfortunately the quantity of Indus river water, which also brought silt necessary for mangroves, had been declining continuously which had affected the mangrove cover.

They said that mangroves played a crucial role as fish nursery grounds, filtering systems and in shoreline stabilization as these acted as natural barriers against calamities like cyclones, tsunamis and hurricanes.

They said that though over 600,000 hectares in the Indus delta was classified as mangrove forests, only about 15 per cent was actually under relatively healthy cover, the rest was either severely degraded or totally denuded.

The speakers said that the middle and the eastern parts of the delta were almost barren and had very little stunted mangrove vegetation. An overall decrease in mangrove forests area had been observed in the inter-tidal zone of the Indus delta.

Pointing out that over 400 million gallons of untreated sewage, infested with industrial waste, from the city daily entered the mangrove forests along the city coast, they stressed that steps be taken to check this ever growing pollution so that the forest cover was not affected.

They also suggested that alternate energy sources be explored so that pressure on using wood as fuel could be minimized. They pointed out that over 35 million cubic metres of wood was used for fuel purposes that accelerated the deforestation process.

The speakers also stressed that efforts be made to make the decision makers aware of the importance of environmental issues in general and forests in particular so that the environmental degradation could be checked.

They said that ecotourism could be developed and mangrove forests and Khirthar National Park were so close to the city that if propagated properly and facilities were provided these would become an instant success among the nature lovers.

They said that the government was implementing various projects to increase the mangrove forest cover and allocation increased by around 15 to 20 per cent annually. However more was needed to be done and political will was needed, they added.

The speakers also suggested that forests department be strengthened further and capacity building of the staff was stressed and involving the community in the conservation was termed as important.

Over 4 species of mammals, 87 species of birds and 7 species of reptiles have been reported in the Indus delta owing to which some areas within the deltaic region are also declared as wildlife protected areas, sanctuaries and game reserves.

Sindh Additional Chief Secretary Ghulam Sarwar Khero, IG Forests Bashir Ahmad Wani, Sindh Forests Secretary Mahmood Ahmed, Chief Forest Conservator Mahboob Alam Ansari, Dr Ejaz Ahmad of WWF, Tahir Qureshi of IUCN, Dr Fahmida Firdous, Dr Naureen Qurshi, R. U. Usmani, Mehrunnisa Siddiqui, and others also spoke at the two-day seminar.