Download Threatened Communities in Pakistan

Course : Biodiversity
Course Instructor : Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashraf
Biodiversity of Pakistan
 Pakistan has a great diversity of land scape,people, culture,
climate,seasons, ecosystem etc.The landscape ranges from
snow capped peaks at an elevation of >8,000m in the
Himalayan range in the north to Arabian sea coastline in
the south; agriculture ranges from lush green canal
irrigated areas in the plains to hot dry deserts in sindh and
Balochistan; temperature ranges from the plains to hot dry
deserts in Sindh and Balochistan; temperature ranges from
well below freezing points in the HKH mountainous
regions to as hot as 520C in the inland areas and annual
precipitation ranges from > 1000mm in the northern
humid areas to <150mm in the hyper-arid areas of
Balochistan.
Climate change-A threat for biodiversity
 Such diversity has given rise to a variety of living
organisms including for a, fauna, animals birds,
insects etc which provide ecological , recreational,
cultural and aesthetic values besides providing
economic benefits and services to human
society.However This large accumulation of
biodiversity is now under threat as in many parts of
the world as a result of inter alia, climate change.
 Various studies indicate that climate change is
affecting directly or indirectly the flora and fauna as
well as their habitats leading to their displacement and
in most severe cases even extinction. Climate change
is also affecting the competitiveness of different
species by differently altering their growth, mortality
rates and regeneration success rates.
 Mangrove forests and associated ecosystem
Coral and coral reef fishes
Marine turtles
Whale and dolphins
Planktons and pelagic environment
Mangrove forests and associated
ecosystem
Mangroves distribution is under
the influence of freshwater
supply. Thus, the largest
mangrove forests are found
along the coastlines receiving
freshwater supply from major
rivers (e.g. Indus and Amazon
deltas) and heavy rainfall (e.g.
Pacific Coast of Columbia).
The Indus Delta, stretching from Karachi
to the south-east to Sir Creek near Indian
border, is comprised of 17 major creeks,
numerous minor creeks, extensive area of
mudflats and mangrove forest.
Indus Delta Pakistan
Mangrove forest in the Indus Delta region constitutes major
mangrove covered area along the Sindh Coast. The Indus
River delta is ranked as the fifth largest mangrove area in
the world. Existing estimates show that 97% mangrove
cover (approximately 0.26 million hectare) in Pakistan is
in the deltaic region . The Baluchistan Coast extends from
Karachi (Hub River) to the west up to Iranian border and
is largely exposed to intensive wave action and therefore,
mangroves occur only in relatively protected.
The Indus Delta mangrove
ecosystem in Pakistan
Mangrove forest karachi
The three major pockets of mangrove forest
are located in
 Baluchistan at Miani Hor,
 Kalmat Khor ,
 Gawatar Bay which constitute about 3% of the total
mangrove cover in Pakistan.
Importance of mangrove ecosystem
Due to interface location between the land and the sea,
the mangrove ecosystem performs complex
ecological functions such as
 shoreline protection,
 upland runoff regulation,
 breeding,
 feeding
 nursing grounds for a wide range of fauna .
40 fit fish in karachi beach
Mangroves are the second most
productive ecosystem after rain
forests. High rate of litter
production in Pakistan;
and
decomposition of litter regenerate
nutrients and provide food to
support a wide range of fauna
including many commercially
important species of fish and shellfish and hence support fishery
industry.
Fish marketing
About 80 species of fish and shell-fish are nurtured in
mangrove area. The loss of mangrove forest would
mean reduction in the fisheries harvest and a loss of
foreign exchange (USD 130 million; Fisheries statistics
of Pakistan 2001 earned through export of fishery
commodities.
Major threats for Mangrove forests
Mangrove forests along Indus Delta are reported to have
undergone tremendous destruction in the recent past
and the whole ecosystem is under continuous threat
from natural and anthropogenic activities.
The major threats are
 deforestation,
 over grazing by camels
 significant reduction of water
 sediment fluxes through Indus River due to the
construction of dams and dikes uphill
Coral and coral reef fishes
Coral reefs are known for diverse
and attractive assemblage of
predatory fish. Coral reefs
provide suitable habitat for a
large number of fauna and flora
. Many commercially important
species of vertebrates and
invertebrates reside in reef
system,
Coral reefs are reported from many areas adjacent to
Pakistan, for example,
 Red Sea , India ,
 Bangladesh
 Maldives .
 No scientific report had been available on the existence of corals in
Pakistani waters.
Recent surveys report the presence of corals in many places along the
coast, such as, off Mubarak village, Charna Island, Astola Island,
Gwadar and Jiwani, and at least 35 or more species of hard corals
have been found with no significant reefs at two locations (Charna
and Astola islands).
Importance
 reef system plays a key role in improving the
 economy of state.
 Reef system also attracts tourists .
 coral areas have potential for eco-tourism. Again this
relates and adds to the socio-economic values of the
local coastal communities.
Threats
 Corals are very delicate organisms and cannot
survive drastic environmental changes and high
sediment load. Strong currents and resuspended
sediment during monsoon (summer) render growth
of reef building corals difficult along coast of
Pakistan.
 Industrial development in the coastal zone and
upcoming Gawadar port might have an adverse
impact on the coral communities.
Marine turtles
 Marine turtles have been declared as ‘endangered’
species
Turtles of Pakistan: Green Sea Turtle
The major threats are
 commercial exploitation,
 hatchling mortality (predation),
 poaching of eggs habitat loss due to coastal
urbanization.
Turtles are legally protected under the Sindh Wildlife
Protection Ordinance (1972) and the Sindh Wildlife
Protection Act (1993). The beaches of
 Hawkes Bay,
 Sandspit,
 Paradise Point,
 Sonmiani, Gawadar
 Jiwani,
 Astola Island are important nesting grounds for two
major species, for example green (Chelonia mydas)
and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), hawks bill
(Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles.
 A conservation project has been conducted by Sindh
Wildlife Department to protect nesting females, their
eggs and hatchlings from predators (mainly feral
dogs) and poachers .
 These studies have been carried out along the Sindh
Coast and there is a need to develop conservation
strategy and action plan for Balochistan Coast.
 It is recommended that in order to conserve turtles in
Pakistan protection of their habitat is needed.
Whale and dolphins
A number of whale and dolphin
species are reported
and have
recently been confirmed through
regular surveys conducted in
Pakistani waters by the Centre of
Excellence in Marine
 Biology
(Pakistan),
University
Marine Biological Station at
Millport (UK) and WWF Pakistan.
Millport (UK) and WWF e
Pakistan. Given the data now
available from illegal whaling
in the 1960s off of Pakistan
and new data from recent
surveys, it is highly likely that
there are a number of
endangered
whale
and
dolphin species off the
Pakistan coast that are a part
of the marine food chain.
Local name: Bhulan (Urdu, Sindhi)
Importance and conservation
 Fourteen species of whales and dolphins are reported
by Roberts to which four more species have been
observed during the recent surveys. Out of these 18
whales and dolphin species two are endangered, two
are vulnerable, and eight are data deficient.
 The northern Arabian Sea bordering Pakistan may be
an important area with regard to migration routes and
feeding grounds along the upwelling region.
 There appear to be a need for identifying the hot spots
of whales and dolphins in Pakistani waters.
 This would help proper management of these animals
and also produce information for attracting tourist and
development of whale watching operations in
Pakistan.
Planktons and pelagic
environment
Planktons and pelagic environment
The marine pelagic ecosystem is the greatest in size of
all ecosystems on earth and pelagic food web
interactions are those that take place within this
ecosystem.
Marine microbes have been the focus of increasing
attention from several decades as they play a major
role in pelagic food web. These microbes constitute
more than 50% of the total plankton biomass and a
dominant part of the pelagic systems.They are
fundamental for the function of these systems.
Plankton biomass
The planktonic community
change reflects on the
diversity and abundance of
fisheries as these are the basic
food for zooplankton which
are preferred food for fishes.
Threats
 In order to assess the pelagic environment for its
designation as protected area for support to fishery
potential of this area, information is needed on food
web structure and threats to these organisms posed by
the extent of pollution and climate change.
Conservation of
threatened communities
Establishment of Marine protected area
(MPA)
Marine protected area (MPA) is an area in the coastal
zone of land or sea specially dedicated to protection
and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural
and associated cultural resources, and managed
through legal or other effective means.
There is a need for designating MPAs in Pakistan to
conserve endanger communities such as
 mangroves and its ecosystem,
 corals and coral reef fishes,
 marine turtles,
 whales and dolphins,
 and planktons and pelagic environment
Advantages of the establishment of
MPAs
There are many advantages of the establishment of
MPAs at different levels, such as,
1. conservation of ecosystem,
2. Maintenance of genetic diversity,
3. protection of rare or threatened species and
communities,
4. contribution to technical and scientific knowledge,
5. conservation of scientific reference site,
6. conservation of cultural heritage,
7. educational opportunities,
8. Contribution to sustainable tourism, potential
contributions to Ecosystem-based management of
fisheries as some of the Coastal areas are the nursery
and spawning grounds of many commercially
important species,
9. Protection of best sites for recreation and tourism
e.g. SCUBA diving.
10. There may be a few short-term affects on fishermen
as a result of imposing protected areas.
This issue needs to be tackled carefully and some
alternative employment/source of incomes for
local people may be provided through
development of small cottage industry and/or
financing through banks for small businesses.
In the process of MPA development an opposition
from landowners and developers, etc. is generally
expected
In Pakistan most of the coastal area is government
owned land with pockets of human habitation.
Although dispute over land use is not likely, these
stakeholders are needed to be involved in the decision
making at all levels.
For the resolution of disputes and implementation of
MPA, new legal framework might be required in
Pakistan. Existing wildlife and forest legislations need
to be amended or revised to allow for application in
the development of National Parks and MPAs in the
coastal zone.
Reference
Siddiqui, Pirzada J.A., Farooq, S., Shafique, S., Burhan,
Z., Farooqi, Z. Conservation and management of
biodiversity in Pakistan through the establishment of
marine protected areas. Ocean & Coastal
Management 51 (2008) 377-382.
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