“The following things are by natural law common to all — the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the seashore. No one therefore is forbidden access to the seashore … for these are not, like the sea itself, subject to the law of nations…. But they cannot be said to belong to any one as private property, but rather are subject to the same law as the sea itself, with the soil or sand which lies beneath it.” — Emperor Justinian, AD 482-565

IN mid-2006, a Dubai-based developer, Limitless of Dubai World, sold a hare-brained scheme, Sugarland City, to our then prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, whose stated intent was to convert Karachi into a ‘world-class city’ (whatever that may mean!).

The project envisaged the transformation of some 65,000-plus acres of land, including Manora, Sandspit, Hawkesbay, bounded by the Hub River, Northern Bypass and the Western Backwaters, into “the most exciting 21st century urban quarter in the world”.

Shortly thereafter, a video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzWRhoew2vE) of the project was floated. Replete with extravagant buzzwords like ‘exciting new waterfront’, ‘bold new beginning’, ‘once-in-a-lifetime vacation escape’, ‘sun-drenched’, ‘world-class master plan’, ‘imaginative architecture’, ‘590-metre tower’ and ‘leisure and lifestyle amenities’, the presentation showed fantastic Dubai-like scenes with extensive reclamation of land in the sea. Details were also posted on the developer’s website.

Based on the federal government’s MOU with Dubai World, the Sindh government machinery was activated to examine premature cancellation of leases, and facilitate allotment of parcels of land to the venture “which promises to bring large Direct Foreign Investment to Pakistan”. Beach-hut lessees were served with termination notices by the City District Government Karachi. To prove transparency and equal access to all, the Sindh government floated a Request for Expression of Interest in the press in Aug 2007. As insufficient responses were received, a fresh advertisement was published in Nov 2007 — what responses were received is not known.

Concerned citizens and civil society groups in the city reacted strongly to this takeover of the coastline and the promotion of a grandiose project that is totally unrelated to the realities of life in Karachi. To our credit, adverse news items and op-ed pieces in the press, letters to the editor, seminars and public statements by politicians, demonstrations by affected fishermen, and court cases by beach-hut owners began to multiply over the past year.

Dharti (sacred land) is a coalition “to synergise the diverse capacities of civil society organisations convinced about the centrality of the environmental framework within which all human activity takes place, in order to ensure that all actions undertaken by official and non-official sectors in Sindh, in particular, and in Pakistan, in general, respect the abiding values of ecological sanctity and of human well-being.” Membership comprises the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Strengthening Participatory Organisation, Baanhn Beli, Shirkatgah, WWF, Women’s Action Forum, Pakistan Maheegir Tehrik, Sahil Bachao, Helpline Trust, Indus Earth, Institute of Architects, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research, Pakistan Women’s Foundation for Peace and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum. Dharti is spearheaded by Naila Ahmed of Shehri.

Last week, Dharti conducted a seminar on the threat to the coastline around Karachi and the attending citizens passed this resolution:

“The Dharti coalition of concerned citizen groups resolves that any development, especially along the coastline, shall be carried out in line with the principles given below. Consequently, the ‘Sugarland’ project at Hawkesbay/Sandspit, which is in violation of these standards, is opposed.

“1) The common-law ‘Public Trust Doctrine’, which mandates free and unfettered access to the shores of the sea for citizens to facilitate fishing, swimming, navigation, recreation, etc, for all, must be respected. 2) The rights of the local fishing communities along the coast cannot be compromised under any circumstances. 3) There must be an EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] and public hearings on all waterfront development projects. 4) Any extravagant development on the seashore (private beaches, etc) meant only for the wealth-laden will be opposed. People from all socio-economic classes must have unhindered right to use the natural resource of the beach. 5) The government must frame master plans of the coastal areas to preserve them for our future generations. The greed of builders and developers cannot be allowed to dictate utilisation of coastal areas. 6) Existing residents of the city have the first right to adequate/enhanced basic utilities (water, sewerage, electricity) and infrastructure. Diversion of these resources to high-class coastal development cannot be allowed to rob the citizens of Karachi of their birthright. 7) The governments, federal, provincial and city, must come clean about the waterfront development projects in all jurisdictions. 8) Sustainable development must be distributed uniformly across the geographical space, rather than being concentrated along the coast.”

The above guidelines apply to all the ambitious, environmentally-unfriendly, so-called development projects along the Karachi coastline, such as the DHA’s 14-km Waterfront Development Project; KPT’s Port Tower Complex involving a 190-acre reclamation of the seabed in front of Clifton Block 2; PQA’s Waterfront Development Project; the establishment of industrial plants along the Bin Qasim shoreline, and establishment of Diamond Bar City on Bundal and Buddo islands; the CDGK’s unplanned increase in floor-area ratio up to 1:9 for buildings along the Clifton beachfront so as to emulate Dubai.

Karachi has already grown far too large and is drowning in its own effluent and pollution. Law and order problems increase proportionately with the population, and with the increasing discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots. As pointed out by a participant in the Dharti seminar, the Quran states that human habitations must not be made too large: a new, separate habitation must be established when one has expanded to the extent that people no longer recognise one another.

We cannot afford to emulate Dubai, nor should we want to. WWF’s Living Planet Report 2006 (assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report.pdf) shows that the ‘ecological footprint’ of the UAE exceeds its biocapacity by 1,387 per cent (the excess of that of the world is 22 per cent and of Pakistan 100 per cent). In order to assist in over-exploiting Pakistan’s natural resources, many local agencies have invited Dubai developers to teach us how to destroy our environment.

The ‘shape of things to come’ has been unfolded. The propensities of those most likely to assume de facto power next week need no elaboration. The non-possession of academic degrees by these worthies is of little consequence. Members of all the Dharti groupings and others wishing to save Karachi’s coastline and seashore can find details at www.shehri.org. The people will have to resist as best they can.

arfc@cyber.net.pk