KARACHI, Feb 8: An integrated plan for land utilization/development to help save the country’s ecosystem was stressed by environment experts speaking at a training programme.

Such a plan should fully address the environmental concerns and suggest due compensation for the loss to the ecosystem, besides taking care of other social aspects likely to be influenced by development projects, especially the mega ones, they said.

Many teachers from the city’s schools and colleges attended the Teachers’ Training Programme at the WWF-Pakistan’s Wetlands Centre, Hawkesbay. It was organized jointly by the WWF-Pakistan and the city government in connection with the World Wetlands Day, being observed on Feb 2.

The experts, representing private and public sector organizations, deliberated upon a wide range of environmental issues, particularly the diminishing wetlands.

On Feb 2, 1971, an international convention for protection of wetlands was signed by many countries, including Pakistan, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

The wetlands included rivers, dams, lakes, rain drains, glaciers and the sea areas less than six-feet-deep water.

Dr Ejaz Ahmed, Deputy Director-General of the WWF-Pakistan, said teachers, students and communities, along with the public and private sector professional organizations dealing in environmental issues, should be involved in the protection and upgrading of natural resources.

He said the pressure of development projects was the main cause of the diminishing wetlands.

The loss could be minimized if development was based on advance planning and assessment of their impact on environment and other issues of public importance.

He said it was regrettable that the country lacked a land-use plan. He said dumping of solid waste and release of sewage and the water, turned poisonous due the agricultural pesticides, had also been causing damage the wetlands which otherwise were fertile and productive.

Pakistan is rich in natural inland and marine resources but these resources are not being protected properly. in this context, he made mention of the lack of planning on the part of development agencies and lack of public awareness.

He stressed the need for ensuring maximum involvement of local communities and capacity-building of the government officials responsible for preservation and upgrading of nature.

Dr Ejaz said that the WWF-Pakistan was launching its Wetlands Protection Programme in Islamabad on February 2. This programme would include identification of wetlands and assessment of their size and impact.

In Pakistan, he said, four main zones of wetlands had been marked i.e. Northern Areas, the salt range of Punjab, Central Indus and Mekran region.

Tahir Qureshi of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-Pakistan) spoke on the importance of sea and coast in the perspective of environment and national economy, and the role of communities living along coasts.

He said that the coastline along Sindh and Balochistan was 1,000-kms long and had national and global importance with the distinction of being muddy, sandy and rocky.

“You would not find all these features at any coast in the world,” he said, adding that Pakistan had 240,000-sq-km Exclusive Economic Zone. This maritime zone had 10-time higher primary productivity than others in the world.

According to World Oceans report, 4,500 million tons of fisheries stock was so far explored from the zone and the fisheries exports amounted to Rs8.8 billion.

He regretted the loss of mangroves which helped in growth of fisheries and maintenance of ecosystem.

“Our mangrove forests have got drastically reduced over the last couple of decades due to human actions,” he said, and pointed out that the coast was also neglected in the past.

He said Pakistan could export sea weeds on a large scale, especially to southeast Asia and Europe.

Identifying threats to the country’s marine resources, Mr Qureshi said municipal solid waste and untreated sewage had been causing a significant decrease in fisheries resources and mangroves.

He cited the example of Singapore where sewage is flushed into the sea after proper treatment.

Dr Fahmida Firdous of the Sindh Wildlife Department, who had been working on protection of turtles on Karachi beaches for over a decade, highlighted the importance of wetlands and turtles.

She suggested that the Sandspit beach be declared ‘protected area’. It had mangrove forests and wetlands which were a major source of all kinds of fish and migratory birds.

She said that for the protection and growth of turtles, her department with the support of WWF-Pakistan had set up a ‘turtle safe zone’ on Sandspit beach where more than two million eggs of turtles were collected for hatching and about 600,000 baby turtles were released into sea.

She said turtles had an important role in maintaining the ecosystem.

Ms Nuzhat, senior officer of the CDGK’s Environment Wing highlighted the contribution of her department towards preservation and upgrading of nature in coordination with various private and public sector organizations.—APP