KARACHI - The Ministry of Climate Change, Government of Pakistan in collaboration with IUCN Pakistan, Government of Sindh and other stakeholders commemorated the International Coastal Clean-up Day here at Sea View on Saturday.

Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan was the chief guest on the occasion, while Syed Abu Ahmed Akif, Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Inspector General Forests Syed Nasir Mahmood were also present on the occasion.

Around 1000 students, youth and volunteers participated in the event, which was aimed at creating mass awareness about the significance of clean coasts and oceans and why these needed to be protected from wastes such as plastic, which research says is found in 62 percent sea birds and 100 percent in sea turtle species.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Mushahidullah Khan appreciated the efforts made by IUCN in organising an event for creating awareness about clean coasts, particularly the 3km long Sea View beach which is thronged by hundreds and thousands of people every week.  “I would like to thank IUCN Pakistan for playing a leading role in organising this mega activity besides the students who have come from various schools of Karachi for collecting tonnes of solid and plastic waste from the Sea View on this day,” the minister noted.

He also thanked Karachi Port Trust and Sindh Forest Department, Engro Foundation, UNDP, Nestle for their financial assistance.

He was of was of the view that growing pollution in the seas was due to limited awareness amongst masses and inadequacy of proper infrastructure. Mushahidullah invited media to play its role to create awareness about environmental degradation.

He told the audience that due to a fast growing population of the world, the earth surface “would not be able to meet our future food requirements and thus human beings will have to turn to the oceans.” The minister lamented that “We have turned our coasts into waste dumps. Our sea shores are stinking because of the waste dumped by us.” He further said that the federal and provincial governments, NGOs, civil society organisations and individuals would have to come together to keep coasts clean. He pointed out that mangroves were the sanctuaries of marine biodiversity.

In his opening remarks, Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Country Representative, IUCN Pakistan appreciated the role played by Ministry of Climate Change in organising the beach clean-up operation.

During the ceremony, the minister also launched two publications produced by IUCN Pakistan under its Mangroves for the Future Programme titled: Pakistan’s Coastal and Marine Resources and Valuation of Mangroves in PQA Indus Delta: An Econometric Approach.

Cheema briefed media men about the value of mangroves in economic terms. He spoke about the mangroves protection as they are a great asset for coastal communities in terms of the sea food that they produce. “We need to protect our oceans because oceans are the largest ecosystems that we have, and they are the planet’s largest life support systems. To survive and prosper, we all need healthy oceans. Oceans generate half of the oxygen people breathe. More than 97 percent of the world’s water resides in oceans.  Living oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce the impact of climate change. For us, our coasts are our natural assets and we need to protect them at all costs.

‘Constant discharge of industrial

effluents causing coastal

pollution’

Constant and daily discharge of highly toxic industrial effluents into Arabian Sea, amounting to millions of gallons has posed serious threat to the very existence and preservation of marine life and coastal areas of Pakistan. This was stated by President of National Forum for Environment and Health Muhammad Naeem Qureshi while chairing a meeting held in connection with International Day for Coastal Clean-up observed all over the world on Saturday.

He said that some 0.5 trillion pieces of plastic had been so far disposed of in oceans across the world, causing serious pollution and posing a threat for sea ecosystems and marine life. “Owing to this unsafe and unabated practice, millions of birds, seals, turtles, whales, and different fish belonging to 700 marine species are about to become extinct,” he said, and added.

That marine pollution had worsened in Pakistan as several state and government institutions were making no serious or concrete effort to reverse this alarming phenomena.

He expressed serious concern over the daily discharge of 550 million gallons of industrial effluents into Arabian Sea containing such toxic elements like cadmium, nickel, different acids, other poisonous elements being used in different industrial processes. He said that all the four effluent and sewage treatment plants of Karachi Water & Sewerage Board were not functioning in the city.

He said that owing to the alarming phenomenon of marine pollution, different species of shrimp and fish in 20 nautical miles sea area from Karachi’s coastline had been rendered almost extinct. The NFEH president said that such a situation had been creating serious repercussions for livelihood of fishermen living near the coastline of Karachi.

He said that almost the entire coastline of Sindh, starting from Indus Delta till Rann of Kutch near the Indian border had become seriously polluted as this 270-kilometre long stretch of land near shoreline was under constant threat owing to constant rise in marine and coastal pollution.

Qureshi said that every year some 6.4 million tonnes of waste was being disposed of into sea, having over 60 percent ratio of polythene shopping bags. He further informed that the coastline of Karachi and that of surrounding areas was under constant threat owing to sheer carelessness on the part of Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim Authority.

Qureshi said that oil spill, unsafe shipment and storage of coal, and unchecked waste and effluent disposal had caused alarming increase in sea and coastal pollution.

He told participants of the meeting that the coastal area near Mai Kolachi area in Karachi had been turned into a virtual landfill site using municipal waste of Sultanabad and surrounding areas for reclaiming land under sea. “This unsafe practice has caused serious threats to mangrove forests in nearby areas,” he added.

The NFEH president said it was a welcoming sign that mangrove forests on the coastline of Sindh had increased to 200,000 hectares as some 10 years back the mangrove forests had been on mere 85,000 hectares area. This has been made possible owing to cooperation and joint work by Forest Department and allied government and non-governmental agencies.

He appealed to the provincial government and relevant institutions to make efforts to counter the phenomena of marine and coastal pollution for conserving and promoting economy, environment, and livelihood of coastal communities. The NFEH president also appealed to people to refrain from the unsafe practice of disposing of waste into sea and on coastline of the province.