KARACHI, Nov 8: A recent advertisement by the Sindh government’s finance department in some newspapers, inviting expression of interest (EoI) for the development of the Keenjhar Lake site into a modern resort on a public-private-partnership basis, has provoked strong resentment among nature conservationists, who have termed the plan a recipe for the destruction of the lake’s biodiversity.

The lake is a protected area under the Ramsar convention and the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, which declares it a wildlife sanctuary.

Titled ‘Keenjhar Lake Project’, the proposed scheme envisages a “convention centre for 500 delegates, modern hotels and restaurants, golf clubs, a day spa, a wellness centre and gymnasium, tropical gardens with recreational sports and lagoon pools, water sports and children’s game centres on the pattern of Disney Land, shopping galleria, etc” at the wildlife sanctuary.

The proponents of the proposed project claim that they will develop the site in a manner which is conceptually and aesthetically in harmony with the ecological richness of the location. Expertise on eco-tourism, however, is not part of the prerequisites for applying for the proposed project.

Apparently, the idea has been floated without involving any consultation from the relevant departments – the Sindh Wildlife Department and the Department for Environment and Alternate Energy. Talking to Dawn, the Minister for Environment and Alternate Energy, Askari Taqvi, who came to know of the project only after he was contacted for comments on the Sindh government’s initiative, said: “The project is in a very preliminary stage and our department doesn’t come into the picture right now. However, I will write a letter to the tourism department, asking it to keep environmental concerns in view while taking up the project.”Further, he said, the project could not be carried out without clearance from the department. “Two reports, one on the project’s feasibility and the other based on the likely impact the project could have on the surrounding environment, prepared by the party concerned through consultants, are submitted to the department and are approved after a thorough examination and public hearing.”

When asked whether the government could develop a modern resort at a wildlife sanctuary, he said: “The department concerned also has to take necessary clearence from the wildlife department. Environmental concerns are very important and we can’t afford to have short-cuts.”

Chief Conservator of Sindh Hussain Baksh Bhaagat also expressed his ignorance about the proposed project and said: “There has been no intimation to us so far. The government is the competent authority and we are part of it. However, the special status that wildlife sanctuaries enjoy binds the government to fulfil certain criteria according to law and a proper environment impact assessment needs to be carried out for any construction activity.”

Violation of wildlife rules

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has condemned the move of the Sindh government of developing the Keenjhar Lake site into a modern resort, saying that it will be a major violation of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance that declares it a wildlife sanctuary.

“The idea is totally rubbish. There will be no migratory birds here if large-scale construction is carried out. We all know that government inefficiency has ruined the Keenjhar and Haleji lakes and now it wants to sell one of them. The government has no expertise in eco-tourism and it should tell the names of experts consulted before inviting the EoI. The government performance could be gauged from the fact that it couldn’t improve the state of the few huts at Keenjhar where you can enter only after covering your nose; they are so filthy,” said Jehangir Durrani, WWF’s nature resource management officer at Keenjhar Lake.

About the lake’s status, he said: “It has the status of a wildlife sanctuary that means an undisturbed breeding ground for the protection of wildlife. The public access to wildlife sanctuaries is also restricted. But what have been happening at Keenjhar Lake for decades is shameful, to say the least.

“No government demonstrates any will when it comes to protecting the wildlife sanctuary and effectively checking violation of rules and regulations. And, it was mainly due to persistent government negligence that today the biodiversity of the lake has severely been threatened.”

Pointing out the most pressing issues the lake is facing today, he said: “The sanctity of the wildlife sanctuary is literally trampled upon when visitors, especially from Karachi, come here in their hundreds on weekends, whose numbers increase to thousands in the summer. There has never been any initiative to put in place a solid waste management system here.

“In the absence of any garbage bin, lack of civic sense among visitors and no intervention on part of the government to ensure observance of rules and regulations, one can well imagine the state of affairs at the lake.”

He said that water pollution had remained a constant source of worry with unchecked hunting, trapping and fishing despite prohibition. Besides, mass stone excavation and mining were also being carried out right under the nose of the SWD, he added.

Also, he said, the law and order situation had been worsening in recent years and the lake was no longer safe early morning and late evening. Forced by abject poverty, people had been forced to adopt means of earning that now endangered the lake’s ecology.

Besides the SWD, the other major stakeholders ‘managing’ the lake include forest, irrigation, tourism and fisheries departments.

Naheed Durrani, director-general PPP-unit, Sindh, and the provincial minister for culture and tourism could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.

Keenjhar Lake’s status

Keenjhar Lake is ranked fourth on the list of national parks and wild sanctuaries in the amended version of The Sindh Wildlife and Protection Ordinance 1972. Of the 34 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the province, 16 are located in Thatta district.

The ordinance says: “No person shall be allowed to enter or reside, cultivate land, damage or destroy any vegetation, hunt, kill or capture any wild animal or fire any gun or other firearm within three miles of the boundaries or, introduce any exotic species of animal or plant, or introduce any domestic animal or allow it to stray, cause any fire, or pollute water in a wildlife sanctuary, provided that the government may for scientific purposes or for aesthetic enjoyment or betterment of scenery authorise the doing of the aforementioned acts.”

The lake, rich in flora and fauna, covers an area of 14,000 hectares. It is a major of source water supplies to Karachi besides being an important breeding and wintering area for a wide variety of birds.