Living Documents - WWF

DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolio

Pakistan’s mangrove forests are in a dismal state. Directlyaffected by logging, grazing and overfishing and undermined bythe pollution and falling water levels of the region’s rivers, theyare ever less capable of fulfilling their crucial functions, such ascoastal protection and providing a breeding ground to manymarine species. But not all is lost. A WWF project on theBalochistan coast shows how fishermen may come to the rescueof an ecosystem they depend on. And a Wetland EducationCentre near Karachi now helps to wage the battle against themajor threats the mangroves face.

‘Plant Mangroves, Get Prawns’Conservation of Pakistan’s Coastal Forests

•• DDrreeaammiinngg ooff aa yyeeaarrllyy ppllaannttaattiioonn ffeessttiivvaall

•• WWhheerree hhaavvee aallll tthhee mmaannggrroovveess ggoonnee??

•• TThhee gguuaarrddiiaann ooff tthhee MMiiaannii HHoorr mmaannggrroovveess

•• CChhaannggiinngg tthhee ssttrruuccttuurree bbyy wwoorrkkiinngg iinn tthhee

ttrraaddiittiioonnaall wwaayy

Living Documents

PakistanDef 06-03-2001 13:35 Pagina 1

governmental levels, as well as growing awareness inlocal communities, things are slowly changing.

Entering the fishing villages of Sonmiani andDamb on Balochistan Province’s coast, one isconfronted with the slogan ‘Plant Mangroves, GetPrawns’. Logos of the WWF, the ForestryDepartment, as well as the local Community BasedOrganisation (CBO), make it clear that a concertedeffort is underway to bring these threatened forestsunder sustainable management and rehabilitateseverely degraded areas.

In Sandspit, a popular beach resort only 40kilometres away from megalopolis Karachi, aWetland Education Centre has been constructed.Through information dissemination andenvironmental education of the public at large, theCentre hopes to create wide-spread awareness of the

need to conserve thecoastal forests.

So does the futureof Pakistan’smangrove forestslook rosy again? Thatwould be far toooptimistic aconclusion. Theimpact of widespreadpollution, growingpopulation pressure,as well as thereduction of the freshwater supply - toname just a few ofthe main threats - is

such that the complete disappearance of themangrove forests in this part of the world is still aserious possibility. To prevent an ecological disasterof this magnitude, much more has to be done. Theconservation initiatives in the coastal areas ofPakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces - as wellas other projects in the Indus delta - are just first stepson the long road towards a healthy and sustainablemangroves ecosystem in South Asia. ▲

On another occasion, a long conversation withgovernment officials on possibilities to protect

the coastal wetlands ended in the question:‘Please tell us, are mangroves trees or shrubs?’These anecdotes are reflections of an attitude

which, until very recently, was common all over theworld. Mangrove forests were generally consideredas no more than mosquito infected wastelandswithout any particular value. Thus neglect,continuous over-exploitation and pollution meantmangrove forests all over the world were - and stillare - disappearing atan alarming rate.

But the mood ischanging. More andmore, the value ofmangroves and theecological servicesthey provide are beingrecognised. Studieshave shown that noless than 60-80 percent of the world’scommercial fisheries’catch are mangrovedependant species. Inaddition, mangrovesare homes for residentbirds and a wintering ground for migratory birds.Their forests play a major role in protecting thecoastline against erosion and flooding, providingfirewood, timber, fodder, and medicinal needs tolocal communities.

The realisation that this valuable ecosystem is onthe brink of collapse came as a shock to many; notleast in Pakistan, which houses the world’s 5thlargest continuous mangrove area. With the help ofthe international community, a change in attitude at

• 2 •‘PLANT MANGROVES, GET PRAWNS’ CONSERVATION OF PAKISTAN’S COASTAL FORESTS

LIVING DOCUMENTS DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolio

Mosquito infected wastelands?Less than five years ago, a WWF-delegation asked

Pakistani forestry officers to show them the way to thethreatened mangrove forests on the coast. ‘Mangroves?’,

they replied. ‘What are they?’

Sonmiani

‘When we first introduced the slogan “Timar lagain, jhinga pain” (Plant Mangroves, Get Prawns), thissparked off an interesting impact on the local population. “Will the shrimps grow on the trees we plant?”, theyasked in their innocence. This gave us the opportunity to explain that shrimps grow to adulthood under themesh of mangrove trees and their roots. Only then did they realise how important it was to grow and sustainmangroves on the coast.’ (Fayyaz Rasool, conservation officer at the Sonmiani field office)

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lingula, a minuscule shellfish which only existed inPakistan’s coastal area.

‘This was an animal which lived through millionsof years of evolution without undergoing majorchanges,’ says Dr. Ahmad, ‘but mankind wiped it outin a couple of years. As a result of water pollution,the lingula is gone forever. And so are several otherspecies of crustacean. For me, as a zoologist, but alsoas a human being, it is hard to believe that we aredoing these kinds of things without giving it amoment’s thought.’

The lingula is not the only victim of man’sbehaviour in this part of the world. In theneighbourhood of Karachi - estimated population:twelve million people - most mangroves have alreadydisappeared and so have the once abundant oysterbeds. As a result of large-scale land reclamation

Dr. Ahmad knows what he is talking about throughmore than personal memories. Head of the Sindh

government’s Zoological Survey Department for over25 years, he has no problem in giving hard scientificevidence of the worsening ecological situation in thecoastal area. Take, for instance, the extinction of the


Where have all themangroves gone?

‘When I was a child,’muses Dr. Muhammad FarooqAhmad, ‘we always went for holiday and relaxation to this

island in the Indus delta. I remember us throwing coinsinto the water and diving for them. The water was crystal

clear. Nowadays it is muddy and black and you cannotlook into it any more. The condition of the water in the

delta, as well as in the sea near Karachi, has deterioratedtremendously in the past decades.’

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and management policies designed to protect themangroves, have been introduced by the government.‘Sadly enough,’ says Ahmad, ‘there is noenforcement of the law yet. Implementation as wellas monitoring are lacking.’

Education of the population at all levels is anotherprerequisite. Ahmad: ‘Especially the localpopulation has to be taught the value of theecosystem they depend on. At the same timeincentives should be provided for ecologically-soundbehaviour. I appreciate the WWF-project in the areaso much because it combines both sustainablemanagement and environmental education.’

When we leave his old office in the centre ofKarachi, Dr. Ahmad says with a sad smile: ‘For me,less than a year from my retirement, it is too late. ButI pray that, inshallah, my successor will see a realchange for the better. Because if we do not find a way

projects, most migrant birds no longer frequent thearea. At some distance from Karachi, other speciesface extinction. Even the famous mother crab is nowin danger.

Ahmad: ‘Years ago, you would see themeverywhere. Now they are becoming rare.Indiscriminate catching, especially of females, is toblame. Traders have made high profits in exportingthese crabs to Singapore, but the end of the trade isapproaching rapidly.’

Population and pollution, the two p’s, constitute,in Dr Ahmad’s opinion, the major threats to themangrove forests and their fragile ecological system.‘People in the mangrove areas are destroying floraand fauna by indiscriminately cutting the trees andcatching all species of fish, including the prematureones. At the same time, enormous amounts ofmunicipal waste, sewerage as well as toxic waste aredumped in the mangroves.’According to Ahmad,there can not be the slightest doubt that ‘if presentdegradation goes on, Pakistan’s mangroves cannot besaved.’

In the 25 years he has headed the Zoologicaldepartment, Ahmad has experienced much ignoranceand indifference. ‘We have advised the governmentto take action many times, but most people still donot realise the gravity of the situation.’

Lately there have been signs of improvement.Partly based on the results of the ZoologicalDepartment’s mangrove resource inventories,management plans have been developed for prioritysites in the Indus delta Region. Improved legislation,



Dr. Muhammad

Farooq Ahmad

River pollution near Karachi

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Panjwani, President ofthe KakapirFishermen’s WellfareAssociation atSandspit. Fishing is themain source oflivelihood for theapproximately 1,500inhabitants of this area.So how is businessthese days, we ask thisstrong-looking manwith an impressivesnow-white beard. Notvery good, he tells us.

‘We haveexperienced a strongdecrease of catcheshere recently,’ HajiMuhammed says. ‘Tenyears ago the situationin this area was verygood but things havedeteriorated rapidly.’

The head of theFisheries Communitysees two main reasons.The first is the

introduction some years ago of nets with very smallmesh, which soon resulted in the reduction of thenumbers of small fish in the coastal area. As a resultof that, bigger fish no longer approach the coast.Further out, in the ocean, big trawlers catcheverything, leaving no space for local fishermen.

‘People do realise that the use of small-mesh netsshould stop, but because of the decrease in incomethey’ve experienced, they go on catching everythingthere is,’ Haji Muhammed explains.

The other factor is the pollution of the backwatersand the channels. These are the waters where thelocal fishermen used to go in the period when no sea-fishing was allowed, or when bad weather conditionsprevented boats from sailing out. Haji Muhammed:‘The problem is the heavy siltation of the water.There is so much rubbish coming down here withthese rivers. Dredging of the channels is badlyneeded, but who is going to take care of that?’

As a result of the bad water condition, but alsoover-exploitation, the export-oriented crab as well asking prawn fisheries almost totally collapsed.Fishermen now concentrate on other species whichare popular in other Asian countries. How long thesewill be available remains an open question.

Root causesMangroves being one of the most complicated and

to live in harmony withnature, we will destroyeverything, includingourselves.’

Infernal touchWith the farewell wordsof Dr. Ahmad stillechoing in our ears, wetake a ride to HawkesBay, one of thelocations of the WWFmangroves project.Sandspit is only fortykilometres west fromKarachi. However, withKarachi’s lunatic trafficand the often terribleroad conditions, the triptakes more than twohours. Halfway, westop at a bridge acrossone of the rivers thatpass Karachi and flowinto the ocean. Thescenery has the infernaltouch Dr. Ahmadalready described. Thescanty water has an ominous black colour and heavysmell. We see several animal cadavers. From the highriver banks, lorries dump their loads into the water.

The pollution of fresh water is seen by many as themain reason for the degradation of the approximatelythree hundred ha. mangrove forests in Hawkes Bay,the last patch of mangroves extending from the IndusDelta. In fact, from the Sandspit coast, no mangrovescan be seen at all. There is a sandy beach somehundred meters wide. There is a large number of so-called ‘beach huts’ along the high water line, mostlyowned by the rich from Karachi. To the rear is a hugearid area, totally denuded of trees. Beyond that themuddy backwater begins, with its mangrove forests.Most of the foremost trees are no more than shrubs;inwards, the avicennia trees - the only species foundhere - are not very tall. Behind the mangrove forests,extensive marshlands constitute an excellent habitatfor hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.

Apart from the effects of pollution, harvesting bylocal and foreign visitors resulted in the changes inthe characteristics of the forest here, explainsJahangir Durranee, WWF’s local conservationofficer. Firewood and fodder are collectedextensively in the forests, usually by the women.Also, the uncontrolled grazing of camels and goatscontributes to the degradation of the area.

In the village, we meet Haji Muhammed Siddiq


Haji Muhammed Siddiq Panjwani

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household items. It is too early to say, Hai thinks,how far the degradation of the mangroves is due toharvesting practices of local people. It is, however,important to note that these products are harvestedalmost exclusively for domestic use and not formarketing.

A very negative contribution comes fromoverfishing and the use of small-mesh nets. ‘Fishspecies in Balochistan’s coastal areas disappear at analarming rate,’ Hai testifies. Another structural threatis rapid increase in population. Hai: ‘More peopleuse more fresh water. This human need is directlycompeting with the mangroves’ need for a regularfreshwater supply.’

Since the creation of Pakistan, there has been acontinuous decrease in the Indus River discharge.The country’s economy depends on agriculture, so anumber of dams and barrages were constructed touse the Indus water for irrigation. Consequently, theamount of Indus discharge has decreased massivelyover the years, causing serious problems to thegrowth of the mangroves. Climate change alsocontributes to the drying up of fresh water supply.

‘The mangroves forests in Balochistan provinceseem to have adapted to this new situation’, says Hai.‘The result, however, is a serious loss of biodiversity.Avicennia - the most salt-resistant mangrove tree - isbecoming more and more dominant, while trees aregrowing less big than they used to.’

vulnerable ecosystems in the world, it is obvious thata range of factors have a direct or indirect impact onthem. But what are the main ones, the root causes ofthe loss of biodiversity in Pakistan’s mangroves?Back in Karachi, we put this question to Dr. AkhtarA. Hai, economics professor, and consultant to theWWF-project. It comes as no surprise that scientistHai concludes that much more research is neededbefore it will be possible to answer this ‘verycomplicated question’. However preliminaryfindings point to the most important factors.

Surprisingly enough, these indicate that thepressure on Balochistan’s mangrove forests has notincreased much in recent years, and, in some ways,has even decreased. Camel keeping in the area, forinstance, has largely declined recently as a result of aloss of commercial value. The damage to themangroves through indiscriminate grazing of largeherds has consequently diminished.

Another positive factor is the relative well-beingof the population. Hai: ‘Thanks to the fisheries’activities, the incomes of most people inBalochistan’s coastal areas are 3-4 times higher thanin other rural areas. That takes away a lot of thepressure on the forests. People are able to buy goodsin the market.’

Still, local households in the coastal areas depend -to varying degrees - on mangroves as sources oftimber, firewood, fodder, salt, drugs, fish and



Damb,

Sonmiani Bay

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Mangroves grow in the deltaic andestuarine regions of the coastline.They are salt tolerant plants, butthrive on water that is low in salinity.Their productivity increasesproportionately with the availability offreshwater.The mangrove forest ecosystem ofPakistan is the largest in aridclimates. 97 per cent of it (about160,000 ha.) is located in the IndusDelta in the Sindh province, while theremaining three per cent is found onthe Makran coast in Balochistan.Theproject’s area in Miani Hor is the onlysignificant area in Balochistan thatcontains extensive mangrovestands.Historical records indicate that thedistribution of mangroves in theIndus Delta has changedsignificantly in the past severalhundred years, partly due totemporal and spatial changes incoastal and fluvial processes. But inrecent times human activities havealso had an increasing impact onthis distribution.The result is amosaic pattern of mangroves standsof varying quality, ranging from

practically intact forests to degradedand even denuded areas. Onlysixteen per cent of Pakistan’smangroves are considered healthy.Eight mangrove tree species havereportedly existed in Pakistan,however only four can be found now.Of these, Avicennia marinaoccupies 95 per cent of the totalmangrove areas. Environmentalistsconsider the Outer Indus Delta as awetlands area of internationalimportance. It is the main fish andshrimp nursery on which Pakistan’sfishing industry depends. Hundredsof thousands of people are(in)directly dependant on themangrove eco-system for theirlivelihood. Mangroves are used inPakistan for firewood, timber, fodder,salt, drugs, household items, andfisheries.The nutritional value of theleaves as fodder is very high.In addition, mangrove forestsstabilise shorelines and decreaseerosion, reducing the energy ofwaves and currents by holding thebottom sediments in place.They alsoact as windbreaks and protectionfrom coastal storms, forming a cost-

free, self-repairing barrier.When acyclone hit the coastal districts ofSindh in 1999, the remainingmangrove forests protected the life,property and habitations in theirvicinity, as opposed to the areaswhere there were no longer anymangroves.The rate of degradation in the Indusdelta has been estimated at six percent in thirteen years. Others - like Dr.Shahid Amjad of the National Instituteof Oceanography - see this as a grossunderestimation. According to Dr.Amjad, more than half of the IndusDelta mangroves have disappearedsince the early 1980s.In spite of recent governmentalefforts to improve legislation andmanagement policies, actual policyimplementation in the field is laggingbehind and mangrove resources inPakistan are still declining. Expertsagree that, in view of their relativelysmall coverage, the Balochistanmangroves could easily disappear ifno proper action is taken, while thepressure on Sindh’s remainingcoastal forests is described as‘severe’.

Pakistan’s mangrove forest ecosystem

Mangrove forest project activities at the coastal region of Pakistan


here, at this strategic spot, that Fayyaz - who is fromPunjab, quite another part of the country - learnsmost about the village, its people and their history.

Sonmiani originally meant City of Gold, heexplains. Once, people in this region were so richthey paid their taxes in gold. The prosperity stemmedlargely from the abundant fish catches. Also, smallamounts of gold were found in the region. Whatexactly the contribution was (and still is) of thelucrative smuggling business to the nearby Arabemirates, is one of those matters villagers do notdiscuss with foreigners.

‘Most people do not know the exact date whenthings happened here,’says Fayyaz Rasool, ‘but therecertainly is a strong collective memory. People hereinform me about historic earthquakes, as a result ofwhich the course of rivers changed. This led to adegradation of the forests. With their own eyes theyhave seen the flooding becoming more serious year byyear. Because of that, the villages have graduallyshifted inlands. The distance between harbours andvillages has grown substantially. That is the Will ofGod, people say. But at the same time they observe: Ofcourse, at that time there was much more forest here.’

‘That is one of those moments,’ the conservationofficer says, ‘I step in. “Can we go back, sir, I thensay. What is the relation between these two? Yousaid it yourself.” It is not me telling them how thingsare related, they themselves know quite well. Theelderly people can tell you exactly how things havedeveloped, how they are related. The elderly havethe knowledge. But if you want to do somethingabout it, if you want to change things in thesevillages, than you need the young people, with theirenthusiasm.’▲

What about pollution? The picture looks alarming.Irrigation water is used for crop lands and residues ofpesticides and fertiliser seep through into coastalareas. Mangroves are used as dumping places formunicipal wastes and sewerage produced by theexpanding city of Karachi. Waterways in this area areextremely polluted, also by discharges of toxicwastes from some 1,500 industries and factories. Oilspills occur during the pumping of oil from ships tothe shore, the cleaning out of ships’ bilges, andoffshore oil and gas exploration.

‘The effect of pollution is dramatic for the forestsin the Indus Delta,’ says Hai, ‘but so far its impact ismuch less in Balochistan. However, if no measures toimplement environmental laws are taken, thepollution will spread throughout the coastal area andeventually reach the Balochistan forests.’

City of GoldFurther from the pollution of the big city is WWF’sproject’s second location, Sonmiani Bay. Ninetykilometres west of Karachi in the BalochistanProvince, we find the beautiful Miani Hor lagoon, asixty kilometer long and seven wide tortuous andcontorted body of water, connected to the sea by afour kilometer wide mouth. Two seasonal rivers enterinto the bay. Perfect conditions for healthy mangroveforests. Hence there are 31 sq. km. of mangroves,representing 42 per cent of the total mangrove coverof Balochistan. Three species are still found here, theomnipresent avicennia, the ceriops and therhizophora.

Sonmiani Bay houses three main villages -Sonmiani, Damb and Bhira - where a total of about7,000 people live. Almost every family here dependson fishery activities. Sonmiani houses a considerableHindu community, whichlived here for centuriespeacefully with themajority Muslims. TheHindu families are notinvolved in the fishingitself; many of the men,however, are fish traders.

It is in Sonmiani thatwe meet Fayyaz Rasool,the young and passionateconservation officer ofthe WWF mangroveconservation project here.Next to his small office isa central meeting place, afew old benches under ashadowy roof, where theelderly men of the villagespend many hours. It is




varying quality.’Sadeeq also

remembers theformer prosperityof the Damb-area.‘There was a timethat trawlers camedeep into thelagoon to loadcargo. People werevery rich at thattime. Now, this haschanged. Becauseof the siltation,large ships cannotenter the lagoonany more. Thesituation is so badthat many times ourown ships cannotreach the sea

because the water in the mouth of the lagoon is only a fewfeet high even during high tide.’

One especially negative development was the sudden drivea few years ago to cut trees for selling straight stems at themarket, says Sadeeq. ‘These stems are used for rooftops.Because so many people tried to sell, prices steadily dropped.You would not get more than ten rupees for a tree. Somepeople came to the market with more than a thousand stems.Then I realised this could not go on. I warned people aboutthe consequences but nobody cared to listen. And we neversee foresters here in this region.’

Clearly, Sadeeq is very satisfied with the currentconservation activities in the area. What worries him,however, is the lack of monitoring. ‘There is an urgentneed to patrol’, he feels. ‘There are many people who willbe tempted to cut the trees once they are mature. But evenmore urgent is the question of how to deal with the peoplewho are opposed to any conservation activity in this area.’What should be done? ‘Give them the stick’, Sadeeqreplies. ‘That’s is the only thing these people will listento.’

Returning to Damb’s small harbour again, two 8-year oldboys grab our rope and enter the boat. The old fishermanwelcomes them. His grandsons? ‘My sons’, he responds,slightly offended. Two of his 14 children. At his age? ‘Fishinggives energy’, responds Muhammad Sadeeq with a smile anda wink. ‘When you return after a day’s or a night’s fishing,you are full of energy.’▲

One of thestrongest

supporters of theWWF project inMiani Hor isMuhammadSadeeq, a fishermanwho has lived allhis life in thevillage of Damb. Afew years ago,Sadeeq - whoestimates his age at‘between sixty andseventy’ - was thefirst to plantavicennia saplingsin degraded areas,encouraged by aWWF pilot project.On our way to theactual plantation areas, Sadeeq proudly points at areas whichflourish because of his activities then.

Less satisfied is Sadeeq with the current activities of hisfellow villagers in the mangroves. When we arrive at one ofthe plantation areas, within no time the old fisherman isengaged in a fierce argument with three men who are diggingholes and planting small cuttings. They are ‘too lazy, fight toomuch and, the worst of all, do not know how to do the job: thesampling are planted on too short distances’. The workmenundergo Sadeeq’s tirade with resignation: obviously it is notthe first time they’ve heard his complaints.

Afterwards, during lunch - rice with fermented shrimps -in Sadeeq’s leaky old boat, in the shadow of large mangrovetrees, there is a chance to chat with the old fisherman. What ishis motivation, we ask. Why this enormous drive for theconservation of trees by someone who should be preoccupiedby fishing?

‘I know this environment since I was born’, says Sadeeq.‘Long before WWF came here, I already realised that healthymangroves are essential for our survival. I am sure that if weconserve the forest, we will be rewarded through largecatches of shrimp’.

As far as Sadeeq is aware, all his ancestors lived inthe village of Damb. From their stories, he knows that inancient times the mangrove forests were much more widelydistributed than now. ‘These ancient forests were so densethat men could hardly enter them. Many species of animalslived there. That is why people called it the jungle. Whatremains of it is a loose collection of mangrove stands of



Muhammad Sadeeq with some of his children

The Guardian of the Miani Hormangroves

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commented on by their fellow-villagers, but no oneseems to mind this lack of privacy. In the end, therecan be no doubt about the men’s main priority: anew harbour, more closely located to the mouth ofthe lagoon. Due to the siltation, the fishermen havegrowing problems in even reaching the sea. Otherfavourite wishes: a playground, a better transportroad to Karachi, a proper sewerage system as wellas a hospital.

‘This is what we call the participatory learning andaction method,’ explains Noorun Nisa at WWF’sKarachi office. ‘It is not only amusing but also themost effective way of finding out essential data inrelatively closed societies. While at the same time theprocess of interviewing has an effect of awareness-raising with the people themselves.’

Nisa is in the process of finalising a report on thesocio-economic situation in the project area. ‘Nowwe’ve conducted this study,’ she says, ‘we are muchbetter informed about the use communities make ofthe mangroves. And we know now what is the besttime to ask people to participate in plantationactivities. Also, we’ve got a good picture of the

First, all the men get the opportunity to writedown what they see as the communities’ main

problems, needs and priorities. Those who areilliterate are helped by others. Then every problemthat has been mentioned is written on a piece ofpaper, and all of these are spread out on the ground.Every man receives twelve matches and one by onethey are asked to step forward and divide thematches among what they see as the mostimportant problems. Each choice is loudly



Board of the Damb Society for Social Development and Conservation of Nature

Changing the structure by working

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Meetings do not have to be dull bydefinition. Look, for instance, at the videomade of a workshop in the village of Damb.The meeting aimed to find out more aboutthe way people use mangrove forests andwhat they see as their main problems. Butrarely does one see so many men havinguncomplicated fun at a semi-officialoccasion. The playful way the wholemeeting is handled contributes a great deal.


secondary school for girls, as well as relief forseveral drug addicts in the village.

‘We are respected by the Damb community,’Anwar says. ‘Now we want to evolve into a truepeople’s organisation for all three villages.’TheDamb CBO has 89 members, all men, who pay asmall monthly contribution. Women are not allowedmembership. There is, however, a special CBOwomen’s committee which organises specificactivities.

Vulnerable saplingsNot far outside the village of Sonmiani, along theroad to Damb, the muddy, inaccessible banks of theMiani Hor lagoon suddenly show signs of humanactivity. Here we find the three nurseries of theconservation project, containing large rows ofavicennia, rhizophora, and ceriops cuttings. Eachnursery is surrounded by fences of thorny twigs toprotect the vulnerable saplings against the gluttonyof goats and camels. Next spring, the young trees willbe ready for planting in some of the most degradedmangrove forest areas. Based on earlier experiences,WWF’s local conservation manager, Fayyaz Rasool,explains that it can be expected that half of theplanted saplings will actually survive and grow outinto real mangrove trees.

Most of the work in the nurseries is done bywomen from the villages. Planting of the saplings is aman’s job. In both cases, voluntary labour has beenorganised by the local CBO. ‘This is in line,’ saysRasool, ‘with our objective of gradually involvingthe community in the conservation of the area.Finally we hope to bring the mangrove forests underfull local sustainable management.’

But beware, he warns. This is a final goal whichcannot be reached overnight. First of all, you have torealise that nature plays a decisive role here. ‘Peoplework when times are favourable for fishing. In thenight, with full moon. So you have to visit them whenthey are relaxing, in the bazaar. Also, the mainplantation activities have to be planned in June andJuly, when the fishing season is over and people havemore time.

Another, perhaps even more decisive factor, is theway these isolated fisheries communities areorganised. Rasool: ‘If you try to push newdevelopments here, you will not achieve your goals.You have to respect traditions. People have strictrules concerning the role of women, the place ofreligion, as well as the respect one has to show to

socio-economic changes which have occurredwithin these communities. Ten years ago completefamilies were engaged in the fishing business.Everybody had their own task. Now you see thatsome people gradually become involved in otherjobs, and consequently adapt to other ways of living.This sort of data will help us to address the issues ofall the villagers and to integrate environmentalissues with their social life.’

Mini-cinemaRemarkably, one issue which caused a lot ofproblems in this community a few years ago is hardlymentioned during the interview sessions. This isbecause the problem has been taken care of already.It had to do with a mini-cinema, which startedshowing what the Damb-people call ‘vulgar movies’.This caused a lot of unrest in this traditional societywhere Muslims adhere strongly to their religiousduties. The elderly complained, but some of theyounger villagers took the initiative: they formed avillage committee which set out to initiate other,more meaningful, activities for the young inhabitantsof Damb. The committee succeeded in ‘controlling’the activities of the mini-cinema, and won theapproval of the elderly people.

Three years later, we are warmly received by sixrepresentatives of the Damb Society for SocialDevelopment and Conservation of Nature. Proudly,they show us the newly designed logo of theirCommunity Based Organisation, showing the threemain field of activities: social development, fisheriesand conservation of the mangrove forests. ‘First wemainly concentrated on social things,’ explainsAnwar, general secretary of the CBO. ‘But after theWWF arrived here, we changed our name andincluded nature conservation as our priority. Throughthis, we also help to stimulate the fisheries.’

With the help of the WWF, workshops wereorganised for the board members of the organisationon record keeping and on the role of communities inconservation activities. Also a medical camp wasorganised for people from all three villages. For threedays, doctors from the NGO Mutual Aid Societyconducted operations and treated people for illnesseslike leprosy. The Damb CBO also succeeded inresolving one of the other long-standing problems ofthe village: a fair distribution of drinking water.Other priorities for the nearby future are theimprovement of the telephone system, the upgradingof schools, including the establishment of a



re by working in the traditional way


So, we ask Noorun Nisa, who is more open to theenvironmental message, men or women? ‘Women,’she says immediately. ‘They are not in the frontline,but they always respond positively. When we talkedto the women in the villages, they told us: yes, weknow the forest is degrading because of our cutting.But what can we do? And they also complained aboutthe hard work of cutting in the forest. So they arevery open to alternatives. And they say: the forestused to be near our village, now it is far away. Andthere were birds before. Men have their priority withtheir work. Women are adaptive to new things whichcould improve the quality of their lives. Men are stilldoubtful about it.’

Absence of education possibilitiesAround noon we leave the village of Damb and setcourse to the beach. It is ebb-tide, the beach is wideenough now to reach the village of Bhira. It is notmore than a short drive but this is the only possibilityto reach the village. For most of the day Bhira iscompletely isolated.

We give a ride to two boys wearing schooluniforms, who walk on the beach in the burning sun.Every morning and afternoon they have to make this10 kilometre trip to the secondary school in Damb. Ifthe tide is favourable. If not, they stay at home. Likemost of their friends in the village, who stoppedattending school after primary education. Bhira-girlsstay at home anyhow, because for them there is a

elderly people. The only way to bring changes here isto work in the traditional way.’

Women more adaptive‘You have to be a woman to be able to contact thewomen in the rural communities,’ says Noorun Nisa,the WWF’s community development officer, ‘buteven then it is not easy. When men in the villagesmeet an educated women, they think: this cleverperson is going to misguide our women. So they arehesitating. If there is a strong religious feeling in acommunity, then it’s doubly hard. In that case themen will not allow their women to work with us atall. So it is hard. And it takes a lot of time. But it isnot impossible. In the end, I’m sure we will succeedin motivating the men to allow their women to co-operate. There are enough positive signs already.’

Contacting the women in the end proved not toohard a job in the main villages within the projectarea. Nisa: ‘In Sonmiani and Damb people haveexposure to urban people, which means they are notrigid. It is the same in Sandspit. Men even invite mesometimes to work with the women. So when I metthe women and told them why we were there, theysaid: oh yes, we are interested and we are also willingto work. We have a lot of extra time, being in thehouses all the time. So we love to work with you.And when I’m talking about health issues and so on,the females get extra interested to know how theseproblems can be addressed.’



Sandspit:

fodder

collection from

the mangroves

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We shake hands and exchange courtesies. Then it istime to say goodbye again. The car turns around andwe drive back to the beach. So this was it? That is allwe get to see of the village of Bhira? Yes, is theanswer. ‘There are still some tensions towards theWWF project over there. So it is better not to enter thevillage now and stick to greeting the leading people.’

The background of the resistance of the Bhirapeople towards any kind of conservation in ‘their’mangrove forests seems to be a common, veryunpleasant, memory. Ten years ago the BalochistanForest Department suddenly banned mangrovecutting. The Bhira population fiercely resisted thisdecision and started protesting. The situationescalated and some of the leaders of the protestmovement were sent to jail.

Low profileWWF’s Noorun Nisa: ‘When we entered the area,and announced that we are co-operating with theBalochistan government, they said: “oh no, notagain.” They were sure our involvement would leadto another ban. So they said: “we will never allowyou people to come in our area.”’

Because of the obvious resistance, the projectpeople decided to keep a low profile in Bhira and toconcentrate primarily on the two other villages,Sonmiani and Damb. Nisa: ‘When we organised thePLA in Damb, we invited people from Bhira to attend.Then, after some time, we proposed an unofficialmeeting and we were allowed to stay in the village forthree days. But then they got frightened again. So we

complete absence of education possibilities. In Bhiraitself, primary education is only available for boys.And in Damb or Sonmiani school enrolment of girlsis also very limited, estimated at some two per cent.

As a consequence of their isolation, Bhira people(the total population of the village is estimated at onethousand) depend heavily on the resources of thenearby forest, for fodder and firewood.

The moment we get a clear view of the village, at adistance of some five hundred metres, we also take ahalt at an isolated house. It appears to belong to thechairman of the village committee. Part of the houseserves as a gathering place. A few men play cards,others are involved in a kind of table football.



Sonmiani: conservation officer Fayyaz Rasool and project

leader Ali Hasnain, standing in front of the tree nurseries

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Hawkes Bay/Sandspit Wildlife Sanctuary


now we will go there again and talk with them. It is amatter of time. But I think the Bhira people nowrealise that we will not ban them from going to theforest and that in the future they will still have theright to use mangrove products.’

The proof of the change in mood comes when - aday after our distant view of Bhira - in a phone call tothe WWF Karachi office it is confirmed that thevillage will be glad to receive a delegation from theconservation project, including the foreign journalist. ▲

said: “OK, we will not come to you any more.”’Now, the mood is slowly changing. According to

the WWF people, the results of their work inSonmiani and Damb are gradually convincing peoplein Bhira that it would be good for them to co-operate.Especially the medical camp in Sonmiani to whichthe people of Bhira (where there is no publicdispensary at all) were also invited - was a fruitfulexperience. Noorin Nisa: ‘They’ve started to respondnow. As usual, first the young people. And they havecommunicated that they are willing to receive us. So



Mangrove fodder for water buffalos

WWF-CANON/MAURI RAUTKARI


Field trips of this nature - the quote comes from aWWF-Pakistan publication - will be undertaken

in the future to create awareness of the importance ofthe mangroves, explains project leader Ali Hasnain.‘This was the first activity, in a series of such activitiesplanned by our department, to create awarenessamong people. The students responded verypositively to the activities and showed a lot of interestin the fauna and flora of the mangroves. Crabs andmudskipper were the most popular. Hand outs weregiven to the students to take back with them to sharewith their school mates and their families. In the moredense stands the students liked the heavy canopiedeffect which gave the ‘feel’of a true forest. Birdwatching, turtle watching and mangroveinvestigations are all parts of the awareness activitieswe have planned to attain our objectives.’

Pushing turtles back to the seaEducating the people about the values of nature takestime. But amazing successes can be attained. ‘Lookat the turtles,’ says Haji Muhammad in Sandspit.‘Twenty years ago nobody cared about them. Wewould just kill and eat them. Nowadays, thanks to allthe protection efforts, they have become so brave thatthey sometimes march through our village. And whatdo we do: we softly push them back to the ocean.That is the way we will treat the mangroves in thefuture too.’



‘In its efforts to attain sustainability ofthe mangrove forests along the

coastal areas of Sindh andBalochistan, WWF-Pakistan has

undertaken a Mangrove ConservationProject. To create awareness about

the importance of the mangroves andthe threats facing them, the

communication/education team forthe project took Beacon House Girls

School, on a field trip to theSandspit/Hawkes Bay area. The issues

pertaining to the mangroves werehighlighted, while the ecosystem was

also explained. The children wereencouraged to make observations

through different activities. Writteninformation was also handed out.’

Towards a yearlyplantation festival

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fodder by something that could be cultivated by thevillagers themselves, would be a big improvement.

‘We have asked scientists from the University ofKarachi to investigate this possibility,’ says JahangirDurranee in Sandspit. ‘The solution would be a salt-resistant plant with the same nutritional value asavicennia leaves.’The need for such an alternativeonce again became evident when the project’savicennia nursery in Sandspit was completelydestroyed by grazing camels. In the meantime, apermanent watch is the only way to guarantee thematuring of the young seedlings.

Offering alternatives is part of the educationalmessage, says Fayyaz Rasool in Sonmiani. ‘Wecannot stop people from using the mangroveresources in the near future. But what we can say is:plant more trees. That is the main solution for thedegradation problem. For every tree that is cut, twoothers should be planted.’To minimise cuttingpressure on the magroves, energy-efficient cookingstoves have been introduced in two of the projectvillages, Sonmiani and Damb.

Finding alternatives for the over-exploitation ofthe mangrove flora and fauna during the off-fishingseason is another challenge. The need for additionaleconomic activities in the project areas was one ofthe main outcomes of the socio-economic surveys.As a direct result, the conservation project isstimulating the introduction of beekeeping as analternative source of income. Training was providedto the community members. However, theintroduction of the beekeeping encounteredproblems as the bees kept in the forest were attackedby predators.

Being a conservation project, explains communitydevelopment officer, Noorin Nisa, ‘we are not in theposition of carrying out new economic activitiesourselves. Our role is an instrumental one. We try tohelp the local CBOs to find NGOs which couldsupport their initiatives. At the economic level, but

A roar of laughter follows these words of the headof the Sandspit CBO. The other members present - likethe chairman respectable men who may callthemselves haji too - see the humour of his words, butall agree no harm is being done to the turtles any more.

There has been a turtle project on the beaches ofSandspit since the early 1980s. The eggs of theendangered Green and Oliver Ridly turtles, whichnest here on this coast, are protected and the youngturtles are helped to find their way to the sea. Many ofthe thousands of visitors who annually frequent thearea come to the Turtle Centre, or watch the nightlyegg-laying, guided by employees of the centre.

The popularity of the Turtle Centre is one of thereasons why this area has been chosen as mostsuitable for establishment of a Wetland Centre. Otherreasons are the conservation activities beingundertaken in Sandspit. It is hoped that in the futurethe visitors of the Wetland Centre will be able toobserve how the mangroves in the area are beingmanaged in a sustainable manner by the localcommunity. And that the marshlands behind themangroves will attract birdwatchers because of thethousands of migratory birds in evidence.

The land needed for the construction was providedin 1994 by the Karachi Port Authority. Due to myriadbureaucratic problems, the actual construction tooksome time but finally the building was completed inAugust 2000. Awareness raising activities have beeninititated. ‘Anticipating the establishment of theCentre,’ says Fereeha Idrees, communication officerof the Mangrove Conservation project, ‘we havestarted organising trips to the area already as well asdeveloping all kinds of educational materials. Thishas been very successful.’

Idrees, who will be based at the Centre, is confidentthat it will be instrumental in informationdissemination to the public at large about theimportance of mangrove ecosystems. ‘There is agradually growing concern among the populationabout issues related to the conservation andimprovement of the natural environment. Schools,colleges, voluntary organisations and governmentorganisations and institutions are developingenvironmental educational activities. However, in andaround Karachi, hardly any facility can be found tosupport and reinforce these activities. Also, in andaround the mangrove forest areas, no environmentaleducational facilities exists yet. We conducted asurvey among beach visitors in Sandspit and it showedthat such facilities would be highly appreciated. So Iam sure the Wetland Centre will be successful.’

Educating the people is one thing. Offering thelocal population alternatives for the exploitation ofmangrove resources is undoubtedly as important.Substituting the use of the mangrove leaves for



Opening of the Wetlands Centre at Sandspit


either national or provincial. The suggestion that thiscould imply that people from all over the province, oreven the country, can make use of this resource, is,however, firmly denied. ‘We, the people living nearthe mangroves, are the only ones who are allowed toexploit them.’

Lack of monitoring‘The mangrove forests are perceived and used by

the local population as a common good, apparentlywithout rules and regulations,’ says Najam Khurshid,who used to be conservation director of the WWF’sKarachi office before he moved to the RamsarBureau overseeing the international wetlands treaty.‘This attitude is at the basis of present problems.People feel they can exploit this resource withoutjustification. They are not aware of the fact that themangroves are legally protected in Pakistan. Due tothe absence of a governmental mangrove forestsmanagement plan and a complete lack of monitoring,this protected status is not very effective, to put itmildly.’

However, this feeling of ownership of the localpopulation may offer the best guarantee for the futuresurvival of the mangrove forests. The conservationproject is based on this assumption. ‘The ultimategoal of our activities in the region,’ says Khurshid, ‘isto establish a form of sustainable management ofthese resources by the local communities themselves.This supposes that the local people are aware of theenvironmental value of the mangroves. But it alsoimplies that certain skills have been developed, thatthe organisational capacity of the local CBOs forplanning, implementation and evaluation ofmanagement plans are strengthened. And the finalcondition is that the local people will benefit fromtheir efforts.’

Najam Khurshid, who has been working on theconservation of the wetlands of Pakistan for over tenyears, has a dream. In his view, the actual mangrove

also with social activities. Helping to organise themedical camps was an example of this way ofworking.’

The socio-economic surveys have resulted in aflood of ideas. The Damb CBO, for instance,proposed initiating a mechanical workshop for themaintenance of outboard motors. A commonly runpharmacy was another proposal. The introduction ofcredit schemes could also be a possibility, given therelatively good earnings in the fishery business. SaysNoorun Nisa: ‘It is not easy to find NGOs for thesesocio-economic activities, because not many of themare active in this part of the country. So most of thetime we use our own network to explore thepotential. It is not our core business, but if we seepossibilities to facilitate initiatives of the localpeople, we will do it.’

Who is the owner of the Pakistani mangroveforests? When the question is put to local people,they usually answer that this is the government,



Former project

leader Najam

Khurshid

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to Sonmiani to attend the plantation mela. ‘Or theywill create their own version of it. This way it wouldspread all over the province.’

Self-sustainingThe dream of the plantation-mela is symbolic for theway the people of the mangrove conservation projectsee their own role. The several current activities -ranging from maintaining the nurseries andspreading the conservation message to initiatingalternatives for mangroves exploitation - should betaken over by the local community organisations assoon as they are ready for it. The main parts of theproject should become self-sustaining. The WWFKarachi office could then concentrate on spreadingthe environmental message on a broader scale - inwhich the Wetland Centre will be quite instrumental -as well as shifting attention towards other threatenedmangrove areas.

Is this not too ambitious a goal for the five-yearperiod the project is planned for, we ask. ‘That maybe so’, says Khurshid, ‘but I am convinced we needambitious goals. That will bring out the best in us aswell as in the people who do the actual work in thefield. The initial progress in the project is slow,sometimes too slow for impatient environmentalists.But if you do not take your time with the localcommunities, they will refuse you. After you havewon their confidence, things can be speeded up. Weare still in the initial process but we have reached thepoint of entering this acceleration phase.’ ▲

conservation project in Sandspit and Sonmiani isonly the beginning. When, in the foreseeable future,some form of sustainable mangrove management inthe project areas has been established, it can beapplied in other parts of the coastal area. Especiallyin the very isolated region between Sonmiani and theIranian border, there is still a huge potential forconservation. ‘If we succeed in our goals in thepresent project, Khurshid believes, ‘this could serveas a model for the whole region.’

Khurshid’s dream is based on an old, almostforgotten festival called mela. Once, the people in therural areas in Balochistan used to celebrate thisfestival. ‘People did enjoy these occasions. Theycooked all kind of things, played games, etc. It was amoment of joy, of relaxation.’Why not try to re-establish this festival, the former director of theWWF Karachi’s office suggests. To start with,Sonmiani would be the perfect place. The local CBOseems quite capable of organising a yearly mela atthe beginning of the plantation season. The plantingof newly grown saplings from the nurseries wouldbecome a joyful moment, combined with all kinds offestivities. ‘This way,’ Khurshid dreams, ‘we couldcreate a link with traditions in the region andintegrate environmental activities into it. I am surepeople would accept the environmental messagemuch easier if it is presented in such a joyfulmanner.’

Maybe in five or ten years, Khurshid dreams on,people from all over Balochistan Province will come



The overall objective of the project is‘to contribute to the conservation ofmangrove forests in coastal areas ofSindh and Balochistan through thepromotion of local sustainablemanagement and informationdissemination.’At the end of the project the followingspecific objectives will have beenachieved:1 degraded mangrove forests

restored, mangrove plantationsestablished, and mangrove forestareas brought under localsustainable management;

2 a well known, self-sustainingWetland Centre established atSandspit.

As for the first objective, the followingproject outputs are expected to have

been achieved after five years ofproject implementation:• approximately 140 ha. area

rehabilitated by mangroveplantations;

• some 700 ha. of mangroveforests, including 140 ha. ofrehabilitated area, undersustainable management;

• four locally managed nurseries inoperation with a production levelaccording to the managementplans;

• 40 har. of established mangroveplantations;

• a validated technical menu forsustainable management ofmangrove forests.

As for the second objective, thefollowing outputs are expected to

have been realised upon completionof the project:• a fully equipped Wetland Centre

with an institutional network;• approximately 10,000 individual

visitors, 6,000 schoolchildren,2,000 students have visited theCentre. In addition, 360 personshave participated in excursionsand 125 in seminars;

• didactic/informative materialsproduced for different targetgroups; a regular programme of atleast 24 excursions/field trips and5 seminars;

• funds from alternative sourceshave been raised to maintain theCentre;

• staff has been trained to run theCentre.

Pakistan Mangroves Project objectives


importance of the mangrove ecosystem has beencreated.

As far as there is a drive towards mangroveconservation in Pakistan, it is oriented towards theIndus Delta. This comes as no surprise since thisDelta contains the bulk of the Pakistani mangroveforests. Not one single conservation effort existed inthe Balochistan coastal area until the WWF projectstarted. The ecological importance of this area lies inits rich biodiversity. Also, the degree of waterpollution in this Province is still relatively low. Andthe fact that the area is small means it is easier tomanage the conservation process. A well-functioningconservation project in Sonmiani, could indeed workas a model for the whole region, as is hoped by theWWF project management.

In the end, however, the success of efforts toconserve the mangrove forests in this region will bedecided by trends which are grossly out of the controlof the WWF project. Pollution, the diminishing offreshwater supply, the overexploitation of the fishstock: these are the really decisive factors relating toa sustainable future for the coastal areas. Here lies abig responsibility for local and national authorities.The intense pressure of utilisation of the mangroveresources beyond sustainable limits coupled with thelack of knowledge about them, calls for thedevelopment and the implementation of a properNational Mangrove Management Plan. Being themost influential environmental organisation in thecountry, WWF should lobby hard for theestablishment of such a Management Plan.

The battle for the conservation of the Balochistanand Sandspit/Sindh mangroves may be won in theshort run. But the final war to save the mangroveecosystem in Pakistan could still be lost.▲

People living in isolated areas like Sonmiani Bayin Balochistan are used to taking care of their

own business. If a substantial part of these villagers,within a relatively short time period, is ready to co-operate with a conservation project that undoubtedlywill influence their traditional way of living,something important has been achieved. As projectleader Ali Hasnain put it: ‘Two years ago, localpeople only were interested when we talked abouttheir socio-economic needs. They stopped listeningas soon as we raised the conservation subject. Nowthey really respond when we touch the subject ofdegradation of the forests and ways to change thatsituation.’

Involving the local communities in sustainableharvesting and managing the mangrove forests is theoverall strategy of the project. Reaching a situationof full local management of the mangrove resourcesis a long-term process and cannot be reachedovernight (or within a five-year project period).There is a need to work step-by-step in theseconservative communities, as the WWF-staff hasexperienced. There is also the problem of local andprovincial authorities which are sympathetic to thegoal of conserving the mangroves but lack sufficientknowledge, manpower and funds to really supportthe process.

However, the project seems to be well on course.Gradually, field activities are supported by trainingand extension activities. After the participatoryappraisal of the socio-economic needs of thepopulation, first contacts with NGOs which couldsupport new initiatives have been established. Theconstruction of the Wetland Centre, completed inAugust 2000, really was a milestone. It is the firsttime in Pakistan that an institution exclusivelyoriented to the education of the public on the



Dealing with thedecisive factors


Acknowledgements

All texts written by Hans van de Veen of Bureau M&O - Environment & Development Productions

© WWF March 2001

Published by the DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolio based at WWF International.For further copies contact Astrid Bjorvik, Finance/Communications Co-ordinator,DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolio WWF International, Avenue de Mont Blanc 27, 1196 Gland, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 364 90 16, Fax +41 22 364 06 40, E-mail: [email protected]

Cover pictures:WWF-Canon/Mauri RautkariLayout and design: MMS Grafisch Werk, Amsterdam,The Netherlands Production: Bureau M&O, Amsterdam,The Netherlands

This publication receives outside financing. Citation is encouraged. Shorts excerpts may betranslated and/or reproduced without prior permission, on the condition that the source isindicated. For translation and/or reproduction in whole,WWF International should be notified inadvance. Responsibility for the contents and for the opinions expressed rest solely with theauthor; this publication does not constitute an endorsement by WWF International or thefinancier.The material and the geograpical designations in this magazine do not imply theexpression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WWF concerning the legal status of anycountry, territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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