KARACHI, Dec 17: Speakers at a workshop on Tuesday highlighted the various sources affecting the Indus Delta and demanded that a comprehensive management plan be formulated for the conservation of that biodiversity-rich deltaic ecosystem.

They were speaking on the second day of the five-day workshop to develop a common vision for the Indus Delta eco-region organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

They said that a major cause for the degradation was the inadequate flow of fresh water to the Delta. They said the fresh water brought to the Delta by the Indus was also infested with different pollutants that found their way into the river during its approximately 1,500 mile-long course.

They said that various cities and towns situated along the banks of the river threw their municipal waste into the river and numerous industrial estates and industries located along the river or nearby its banks also threw their industrial effluents into it. They said that hardly any industry had a proper treatment facility, so almost all their effluents got into the river without being treated.

They said that chemical and synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and infested agricultural runoffs also entered the river, severely contaminating the river water. Over 300 million gallons of municipal sewage, which also included untreated industrial effluents from the city’s industrial estates, also made their way into the sea. Many industries discharged their effluents into the stormwater drains which, after passing through the Malir and Lyari rivers, got into to the sea contaminating the marine environment.

They said that agriculture, fisheries and livestock grazing were among the major livelihood sources of the people living in the eco-region. Though agriculture had also suffered, the coastal belt and coastal communities mostly involved in fishing activities and business had been affected severely.

They said that the fisheries sector had suffered because of the inadequate flow of water to the delta, industrial and agricultural pollution, unsustainable methods of fishing like the nets which even caught juvenile fish, poor management and overfishing.

They said that a large number of aliens were also involved in fishing, and since they had no long-term interests here, they used banned fishing nets and were involved in other illegal fishing activities that seriously affected the fishing stock. Those, they said, were the reasons poverty was more rampant in the eco-region than in other parts of the province.

They suggested that the possibilities of eco-tourism which had an enormous scope, particularly with foreign tourists, be explored. Tours for watching dolphins, migratory waterfowl and turtles could be arranged which, they said, would be an instant success provided safety of tourists was guaranteed and ensured.

They also suggested that wetlands be properly managed and comprehensive management plans for the Ramsar Sites — Haleji Lake, Keenjhar Lake etc — which had a great potential for being developed into major tourist sites be prepared on priority.

They regretted that though many government departments were involved in conservation and development projects, there was a lack of coordination among them and they usually were working independently, which sometimes resulted into duplicating of work which was a waste of scarcely available resources.

They also suggested that while introducing the exotic species proper research be done on their introduction and on what their effects would be on the local species. They point out that a shrub, “mesquite” was introduced and it had wiped out many endemic floral species, while an exotic fish “tilapia” had wiped out many species of the local fauna.

Syed Ali Ghalib, Sikander Brohi, Saeed Ahmad Khan, Akhtar Hai, Ali Hassan Habib, Richard Garstang, Dr Ejaz Ahmad, Dr Hassan Moinuddin and others spoke on the occasion.

Five focus groups — (a) fresh water and brackish wetlands; (b) wildlife of region; (c) pollution in region; (d) stakeholder communities and (e) economic values — were formed to discuss the issues and give their recommendations.

The participants will go on a field visit to mangroves on Wednesday.