KARACHI: At a webinar organised on Monday to mark the World Oceans Day, speakers talked about the marine potential Pakistan possessed and underscored the need for benefitting from international funding opportunities available to develop ocean resources in a sustainable way.

The event was jointly organised by the National Institute of Oceanography, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-Pakistan and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The theme of the day this year is ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.’

In his opening remarks, IUCN country representative Mahmood Akhtar Cheema pointed out though Pakistan’s seabed territory had grown by 50,000 square miles, the budgetary provision had not been increased accordingly.

“In this respect, Pakistan can benefit from the Green Climate Fund and the World Bank that has a component on the blue economy,” he said, adding that policies couldn’t be implemented without necessary funding resources.

Policymakers urged to declare Churna Island a marine protected area

He emphasized the need for developing public-private partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cited the SDG 17, which was about strengthening means of implementation and revitalising the global partnership for sustainable development.

Cheema also recalled Pakistan’s international commitment under which the country was required to declare 30 per cent of its marine area protected.

Director General of the National Institute of Oceanography Dr Nuzhat Khan said oceans were greatly affected by growing pollution, climate change and rising acidity.

“Pollution has always been a problem and human beings are the source of pollution. The theme of this year’s oceans day is ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean’. Therefore, our engineering industry has to play an important role in designing ships, boats, cars and other machinery that is environment friendly so that oceans can benefit from the new innovations.”

Participants also spoke about the need for ecotourism in the country and discussed issues pertaining to this industry.

Churna Island

Meanwhile, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) in a statement on the World Oceans Day called upon policymakers to declare Churna Island as a marine protected area.

“Pakistan is blessed with marine waters which support livelihood of thousands of fishers and are home to diverse marine life. This rich asset, however, faces multiple threats including plastic pollution, disposal of untreated sewage, use of harmful fishing nets, overfishing and rise in temperatures,” said director general WWF-P Hammad Naqi Khan.

He shared that as the Arabian Sea harboured unique marine life, we should make concerted efforts to create more marine protected areas and develop their management plans.

In this respect, he spoke of the need to declare Churna Island as Pakistan’s second marine protected area — a status which would protect this natural treasure for generations to come.

“Without a conscious effort to actively protect the health of our oceans, these places of natural wonder will become more and more rare,” he added.

The organisation also released a short video showing underwater life in Churna Island.

The footage developed by Nyal Mueenuddin, a WWF-P film-maker, showcased the rich biodiversity of Churna Island which included different types of corals and a number of fish species such as the Indo-pacific sergeant, silver moony, neon fish, sweeper and two species of jellyfish.

Located at around six kilometres from Mubarak village in Karachi, Churna Island is a perfect patch of rocks which gives the look of an Egyptian pyramid from some distance. Being a transboundary island between Sindh and Balochistan, it is a popular destination for tourists and is one of the few places where a variety of corals have been found.

Experts are of the view that Churna Island is the ideal candidate to be designated a marine protected area after Astola Island. Through this effort, Pakistan will achieve compliance with Aichi Target 11, which requires that by 2020 at least 17pc of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10pc of coastal and marine areas of a country are conserved.

“To conserve the rich biodiversity, critical marine habitats and enjoy the beauty of the Arabian Sea, WWF-P urges policymakers to declare more MPAs where no fishing is allowed. These safe spaces will mean that there are always places for fish to grow and reproduce. This will not only improve livelihoods of local fishers but also help restore ocean ecosystems naturally,” the WWF-P said.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2020