The Sindh government is seriously considering having a steering committee to be headed by the Sindh governor for initiating integrated, well-synchronised, and co-ordinated efforts for the development of the coastal areas, it was learnt from official sources.
The committee will ensure a more swift, active, integrated coastal zone management master plan, oversee the overall development, improvement and beautification of coastal areas, identify, sponsor, co-ordinate, execute and monitor the development schemes/activities.
It will act as a co-ordinating agency between the federal and provincial governments or any local authority or autonomous body; collaborate with the federal or provincial, public or private agencies engaged in development activities and environmental protection; and perform such other function as may be considered necessary for achieving the objectives of the steering committee.
The steering committee will include all federal, provincial and local governments' stakeholders as its members, including the Sindh Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (dev), Senior Member Board of Revenue, Commander Pakistan Navy, Karachi, Director General Maritime Security Agency, Chairman Pakistan Steel Mill, Administrator DHA Karachi, Chairmen KPT and PQA, Director General Coast Guards, Chairman PNSC, a representative of Crops-5 Headquarters, and Pakistan Customs, besides secretaries Finance and Co-operation, Forest and Wildlife, Irrigation and Power, Agriculture, Culture and Tourism, Local Government and Special Development, Works and Services, Environment and Alternative Energy, Livestock and Fisheries.
The DCOs Karachi, Thatta and Badin and a representative each from IUCN, WWF and Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum have also been suggested to be its members.
The director general, Sindh Coastal Development Authority (SCDA) will act as its secretary.
It is also understood that the government may consider amending the Coastal Development Authority Act of 1994 to include the Karachi coastal areas within the jurisdiction and activities of SCDA so that a focal authority could offer a `One Window' service to foreign and local investors.
The Sindh government may, in this regard, move in the direction of capacity and logistic building of SCDA soon.
A meeting held recently at the Governor House , and took stock of the coastal development and uplift projects. The coastal areas of southern province of Pakistan have a 350-km-long coastline, having two all-weather ports of Keamari and Port Qasim.
Besides, Hawksbay and Sandspit beaches are known to be the fourth beautiful beaches in the world, which have been a victim to negligence.
Sindh commands 100 percent brackish water, about 55 percent fresh water, and 71 percent marine water. It possesses 95 percent of total marine fisheries resources of Pakistan and over 78 percent of exports of fish and shrimps.
The steering committee will move for the protection of the ecosystem.
The authorities at the Governor's Secretariat are learnt to have been informed through a concept paper that Sindh has natural Indus Delta, spread over an area of approximately 600 million square meters between Karachi and the border between Pakistan and India.
It consists of 16 major creeks and extensive mudflats, and is about 200-km-long and 50-km-wide.
Satellite imagery indicates that about 1,850 million square meters of the Delta were covered with mangroves, but now the degradation is significant, specially in Keti Bandar and Shah Bandar of Thatta district, where the mangroves forests have reduced to 1,000 million square meters in just over a decade.
Officials have also spelled out in the paper that mangroves and its environments are the natural breeding grounds of shrimps and a number of fish, which is diminishing, ultimately hampering production of species "Palla" and "Dangar", two valuable fish varieties, whose catch was 600 tons in 1986, which has now been reduced to 200 tons.
The annual average catch of shrimp, a most valuable item in Sindh, was 27,541 tons, ie 97 percent of the national total, but has now reduced to 92 percent, due to over fishing, degradation of ecosystem, un-sustainable exploitation of marine resources and alarming rise in pollution levels in fishing waters.
The paper speaks about discharging of industrial effluent into Lyari River, which drains it out into sea through Karachi Harbour.
Besides, there are six power plants along Karachi coast, which discharge heated effluent and other pollutants into sea. Due to lack of sanitation, solid waste/municipal waste is also dumped.
One of the major problems of coastal areas is oil pollution from shipping traffic in the ports, discharges and leakages, small spills occurring during loading and un-loading.
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