KARACHI: Means to counter disasters stressed: Seminar on Tasman Spirit
These views were expressed by various speakers at a seminar on “Marine Environment 2003: Aftermath of the Tasman Spill”, organized by the British Council, Karachi, in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, the University of Karachi, on Wednesday.
The speakers touched different aspects and impacts of oil spill from the foreign tanker Tasman Spirit, which ran grounded on July 27 and consequentially spilled over 30,000 tonnes crude oil into the sea. A large quantity of the oil drifted towards the shoreline of Clifton and Shirin Jinnah Colony and resulted in numerous problems for human and marine lives.
A majority of the speakers were of the opinion that damages could have been minimized, provided there existed an integrated damage control system. The lack of competency of government agencies in tackling the problem and absence of a real time dissemination of information about the developments taking place in the wake of ship-grounding had added remarkably to the concerns and reservations of people, particularly those residing near the coastal strip, they said.
In his welcome address, the BC director, Charlie Walker, said that the spill had devastated the safety and natural beauty of the coastline, but it was encouraging that academicians were holding a seminar with the sheer zeal to address the key issues that stemmed from the Tasman spill disaster.
He mentioned that the seminar was a part of the Higher Education Link programme, funded by the British government. The link programme in general sought to promote collaboration between British and Pakistani varsities in the areas of curriculum development, capacity building and collaborative research.
Speaking as the chief guest, the vice-chancellor of Karachi University, Dr Zafar Saeed Saify, said that a team of over 15 scientists of KU were already in the process of developing mechanism to reduce the impacts of the environmental catastrophe. Analysis of samples and results and formula would be evolved to deal with the oil hazards and its anticipated long term impacts, he said. Moreover, he said that the government of Pakistan had already sanctioned two million rupees while further financing had also been promised by the government.
Two researchers from the University of Glasgow, UK, Dr Azra Meadows and Peter S. Meadows, presently visiting Pakistan under another link programme of the British Council, also gave presentations on “International Perspective: Coastal oil spills and local community”.
Discussing the multi-factor impacts of the oil spill, the scientists said that during the last 35 years about half a million tonnes oil had been spilt globally into the sea. Mr Peter said that a ton of oil took 10 minutes hardly to spread in a radius of five kilometres. However, he said, oil degradation in the sediments and sea columns used to take a longer time.
The scientist urged that sufficient equipment and offhand availability of dispersant could help in combating the oil pollution timely.
Dr Azra presented a case study of “sea oil spill at SW Wales coast in 1996”. She pointed out that spill mainly affected the wildlife and birds, cockles and other shellfish, seaweed and maritime vegetation as well as adjacent agriculture land.
The lady maintained that a well-coordinated monitoring was necessary to avoid overlapping and gaps. Moreover, she added, an overall assessment of environmental impact, publication of findings and recommendations as well as a meaningful liasion with media could help a lot in handling the effects of oil spill.
During the two technical sessions, about a dozen scientists and representatives of government agencies divulged on the Tasman spill and other management issues. The speakers at these sessions were Dr Jamal Ara and Dr Aftab Turabi of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Shahid Lutfi of Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, R.Y. Usmani of Karachi Port Trust, Dr Shaukat H. Khan of the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, Dr Athar Ali Khan and Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi of Karachi University, Waheed Ahmad of Sindh Fisheries, Dr Saifullah, Dr Pirzada Jamal Siddiqui, Dr Mujtaba Naqvi and Dr Nayyar A Zaigham.
The KU Dean of Sciences, Dr Syed Iqbal Mohsin while presiding over the concluding session pointed out that there was no substitute to preparedness when it came to major hazards.
Referring to the increasing transportation of crude oil and chances of accidents in the sea, he said that the control system and remedial measures should be in place and ought to be upgraded regularly.
Commodore Syed Qamar Khan of the marine fisheries department apprised the audience about the impact of oil spill on fisheries. He said that a team of fisheries officers had been regularly visiting the oil-affected area of Clifton and Sea view. The team was collecting fish and water samples, he said. The fish, landing at the Karachi Fish Harbour, was also being monitored, he added.
He maintained that there was no significant impact of oil spill on fisheries resources while detailed studies were needed to confirm the impact of oil spill on primary producers.
SEPA deputy director Shahid Lutfi explained the immediate actions taken by his agency and other bodies and NGOs at the time of spill.
Dr Saifullah presented the methodology and steps to improve the coastal management and for protection of mangroves forest after the Tasman spill.
Dr Jamal Ara presented the report of her group, which conducted the survey of 378 residents of Clifton. She explained that throat, itching and skin problems were reported largely in the area. She expressed her fear that any longer exposure to the crude oil contents might had affected the pregnant women as well.