KARACHI, May 22: Pakistan, a signatory to seven international conventions on the environment, needs to urgently develop and implement a biodiversity action plan to conserve its depleting plant and animal species, many of which have already been wiped out.
While the responsibility for the job primarily lies with the government, which must prepare the required reliable data on a priority basis, the media needs to create awareness about the crucial link that exists between humans and other living creatures. The efforts aimed at the preservation of diversity of life are, in fact, the battle of our own very survival.
This was the gist of the speeches made at the seminar titled “Strategies for Plant Biodiversity Conservation” held at the University of Karachi on Thursday to mark the World Biodiversity Day. The event was jointly organised by the KU’s Centre of Plant Conservation, its Department of Botany and the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast).
Stressing the need for a biodiversity action plan, Fuuast Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohammad Qaiser said issues like global warming and swift changes taking place in the environment had forced many countries to develop their respective strategies for conservation of biodiversity. Pakistan, however, lagged far behind in the goal since it didn’t even have a reliable data on the status of plant and animal species.
“The conservation status of most plant and animal species is not known. In fact, many species remain unidentified. There is an urgent need to conduct field surveys and collect data so that a sustainable plan for biodiversity conservation could be chalked out, strictly implemented and adhered to,” he said, while warning that if the present rate of chopping down of forests continued, there would be no wild tree species left in 20 years in Pakistan. Regarding the global situation on biodiversity, he said the loss of biodiversity was 10,000 times higher than ever in the past. It was estimated that the world was losing 50,000 species every year, which meant losing 137 species daily. The extinction had been greatly accelerated by human activities.
Provincial minister for the environment and alternative energy, S. Askari Taqvi, said that preservation of natural resources required not only political will on behalf of the government but also a strong desire in the masses to protect the environment. That, he said, could only emerge if awareness about the significance of biodiversity was created at the grass-root level.
Ideal location
Talking about the species which are now extinct in Pakistan, Syed Ghulam Qadir Shah of the WWF said it was the only country which had one of the world’s highest peaks and a coastline. This combination of high and low altitude had gifted Pakistan with a huge diversity in plant and animal life which was seriously endangered due to neglect and human exploitation.
“There are nine distinct ecological zones in the country where a variety of flora and fauna exist. Nineteen wetland sites have been identified in Pakistan while 296 places have been marked as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. The country’s cover of protected area is 11.5 per cent — more than double the international standard, i.e. 4.2 per cent,” he said.
However, he regretted, despite having tremendous wealth in terms of biodiversity and huge potential to develop these resources, the country presented a bleak picture of its plant and animal life.
Identifying the threats to biodiversity, he said they included deforestation, over-grazing, faulty agricultural practices, hunting, habitat degradation, water-logging and salinity, pollution, over-fishing and construction of dams.
Extinct animal species
About the animals now extinct in Pakistan, he said they included one-horned rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, Asiatic cheetah, vultures and gharial while those now endangered included green turtle, marsh crocodile, houbara bustard, musk deer, cheer pheasant, white-headed duck, western tragopan, dalmatian pelican, Marco Polo sheep, Punjab Urial, blackbuck, brown bear, black bear, Asiatic wolf, snow leopard, common leopard and Indus dolphin.
“Each species is a building block of the ecosystem and gradually losing these blocks means destabilising the entire structure of the ecosystem. The delicate web of life is interlinked and the message needs to be conveyed to the masses at the grass-root level.”
The other speakers included KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering head Dr Irtifaq Ali, Centre for Plant Conservation Director Dr Anjum Perveen, Prof Surayya Khatoon, Prof Moinuddin Ahmed, Assistant Prof Haider Abbas, Mr Jan Alam and Mr Haider Ali.
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