EVERY solution has a problem in itself. At least it is true in the case of the Chotiari Wetlands Complex, according to Abdul Majid Mangrio who resides in Wainhyal village along the reservoir which is only accessible through an hour's ride on boat and is set in the middle of Thar Desert.
Spreading over an area of around 1,800 hectares and situated around 30-35 kilometre northwest of Sanghar in interior Sindh, Chotiari is one of the most biologically diverse places in the country.
Bordered by sand dunes, agricultural land and riverine Makhi forest, Chotiari is located at the junction of deep lakes and shallow marshes. It is interconnected between a group of sub-tropical lakes like Baqar, Akanwari, Tajar, Phuleli, Seri and Sao Naro. Nara Canal not only surrounds these freshwater and brackish lakes but is also the major source of water to them.
Thatched huts are the abode of the area residents who are completely dependent on their natural resources like fishing, agriculture and livestock for their survival. They live below poverty line as the area lacks basic social services and infrastructure. Most residents are followers of Pir Sahib of Pagaro - the spiritual guide of Hurs who had revolted against the colonial rulers - and are not happy with the construction of the reservoir. Some of them lost their land when it was submerged and still have not received any compensation.
They say the long and high embankments and dykes built to convert different lakes into a single reservoir has disturbed the natural flow of water into the lakes and spoiled the water quality in some of them.
An uneven supply of water into the reservoir has not been instrumental in increasing the production of fish in the area. When the water level goes down, the fish production also declines. There has been decreased fish catch due to the loss of flora life in the reservoir, which has had a significant impact on the livelihoods of the fishermen.
Mangrio told a delegation of the Forum of Environment Journalists Pakistan (FEJP) during an environment study tour arranged by the World Wide Funds for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) that the aim of constructing a reservoir was to bulge the rear areas of Sanghar and Mirpurkhas districts.
'But the reservoir has turned the fertile agricultural land on its western and southern sides into waterlogged and uncultivable places,' said Mangrio who is an office-bearer of the Sustainable Development Foundation, a community-based organisation working in five villages of the area in collaboration with the Indus For All Programme of the WWF-P.
He said some 30 or so settlements, especially the one on the sand dunes within the reservoir area housing fishermen, have submerged under five to 30 feet water, ruining the existing rangelands and resulting in loss of biodiversity and fodder for livestock that has been a major livelihood source for the area people.
With the involvement of the local community, both the WWF-P and the SADF had been creating awareness on the ecological importance of the region and trying to conserve local ecosystems.
Mangrio told the delegation that a solar energy unit, installed in his village with the assistance of the WWF-P, had been supplying electricity to 14 houses. 'In the middle of the desert, we are also producing a number of vegetables through pitcher irrigation system. These measures would contribute to lessen the pressure on the local ecology which is deteriorating and needs to be preserved,' he said.
Indus for All Programme Coordinator Nasir Ali Panhwar said owing to rising water tables and associated salinity of the non-cropped areas, fallow land had been decreasing and abandoned land increasing.
'As a result, the farmers are forced to intensify cropping on their best land. Increased water supplies initially increase the cropped area but at the expense of decreasing the non-cropped area which reduces the dry drainage effect and allow the water table to continue rising. Some areas have already reached a point where pockets of cultivated land are surviving because they are surrounded by a saline waste,' said Panhwar.
Widespread deforestation for agriculture expansion and to meet growing demand of firewood in the nearby Sanghar city, indiscriminate use of pesticides on agricultural crops has also been a threat to the flora and fauna of the area.
The reservoir has also disturbed the habitat of the unique wildlife species found in the area, especially Marsh Crocodile. Two important species, the Gavial and the Smooth Coated Otter, are on the verge of extinction. Hog Deer is another endangered species of the area; degradation and shrinkage of habitat is one of the main reasons for the decline in its population.
An off-stream reservoir on the Nara and Lower Canal Systems and a part of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) Stage-I Project, it was actually constructed out of a natural depression along the left bank of the Nara Canal in the 1990s. The idea was to store rainwater and flood water from the nearby Indus River to use it in times of drought. The 55-kilometre long earth embankment with a maximum height of 30 feet, the Chotiari Reservoir has a capacity of storing 0.7 MAF of water during floods in the river.
The biological diversity of Chotiari drew the attention of the WWF-Pakistan which included it in the Indus for All Programme. Besides Chotiari, the WWF-P is preserving genetic, species and ecological diversity at Keti Bunder, Keenjhar Lake and Pai Forest.
Panhwar said in order to reverse the ecological disaster at Chotiari, the WWF-P has been focusing on recovery of endangered species, sustainable rangeland management, promotion of sustainable fishing practices, management and control of seepage, provision of alternate energy and reforestation for the growth and improvement of livelihood.
