World Wide Fund for Nature - Pakistan on Friday issued its "mangrove fact sheets" on Bundal and Buddo Islands, fearing development works are likely to threaten forest, obliterate marine species hatcheries and hit livelihood of fishermen all around the islets. The area shelters 96 species of fish and provides breeding and nursery grounds for economically important species like shrimp and other shellfish, the Fund says.
The diverse ecosystem provides habitat for different species of marine turtles, marine dolphin (three species) and birds (54 species), which are a part of Karachi's natural heritage, it adds. The WWF-Pakistan demands an initial environmental assessment and a subsequent environmental impact assessment (EIA) in line with the Environmental Protection Act 1997 before any development begins at islets.
These assessments will highlight broader environmental risks and suggest environmental management plans to scale down the negative impacts on the sea ecosystem. The EIA process requires an investigation of possible alternative sites for the project, it recommends. Director General of WWF-Pakistan, Ali Hassan Habib said that "both the ill-chosen sites are a source of income for thousands of fisher folk who have relied on these islands for generations for their livelihood".
The islands, which were planned for the development, he said, provided a significant amount of seafood to the fishing exporting sector in Karachi, besides furnishing supplies of fish and shellfish species to local markets across the country.