Shrinking habitats, disappearing animals
Diverse wildlife thrives in Sindh, owing to the province's varied landscapes that range from coastal areas and deserts to riverine systems and mangrove forests among other noticeable terrains.
The province reportedly has 322 species of birds, 107 of reptiles, 82 of mammals, 10 Ramsar sites, 13 game reserves and 33 wildlife sanctuaries, according to the Sindh Wildlife Department.
In a bid to ensure protection for wildlife, the Sindh Assembly recently passed the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Bill, 2020, seeking to discourage hunting and handing six months in jail to anyone posting pictures of hunted animals and birds on social media. The new legislation also seeks to protect wild animals entering the province via trans-boundary migration or human activity.
But despite calls to conserve rare species, wildlife experts and photographers believe threats to their existence continue to persist.
Mirza Naim Beg, a retired banker who has devoted his life to wildlife conservation for the past five years, holds human intrusion responsible for the loss of fauna, flora and their habitats.
"Estate development is causing loss of habitat. We do not have any laws to restrict blind so-called development. In civilised societies, the administration limits such development ensuring jungles and trees are not threatened," he stated, identifying poaching and netting as other major threats to the wildlife population.
"These poachers sometimes work under SWD's protection. We are lucky, though, that the department has been fairly active [in taking action against poachers] for the last few years," Beg continued, adding that his team has also helped catch hunters and smugglers.
However, he elaborated the wildlife department didn't have enough resources or manpower to cover the entire province. According to him, poachers also sell animals in markets while the illegal business has flourished so much that some have made Facebook pages selling precious birds and animals.
On hunting, Beg said hunters often did not follow the rules and killed animals even in the off-season - the breeding season - adding that the licences issued for hunting certain birds were abused without a check.
"Internationally, hunters are now working towards conservation as they have realised that without it, the wildlife and their passion to hunt will die," he continued, adding that there were a few hunters in Pakistan who are now making similar efforts to conserve and rehabilitate birds such as the black nd grey francolin, but greater efforts were needed.
Asad Farooq, a wildlife photographer, also said the number of migratory birds in Pakistan was rapidly declining due to hunting and loss of ideal conditions.
"Just like wildlife photographers wait for their arrival to capture their pictures, hunters and poachers gear up to attack them," he decried, adding that this was followed by excessive hunting and poaching of rare birds.
"This is scaring birds and we see their numbers declining," he lamented. Plus, he pointed out, trees were being cut routinely, industrial waste disposed of in mangrove forests and no serious measures taken to reduce pollution, piling on the problem.
Farooq also explained that the monsoon season was as beneficial for wildlife as it was for plants and trees. "It is like a restart button, rejuvenating nature and preparing it for the rest of the year," he said, adding that for wildlife photography, the monsoon was the second best season after winter.
Elaborating on birds found in Pakistan, Farooq said most migratory species flew in during the winter, from freezing areas such as Siberia as Pakistan's conditions suited them. However, he regretted that their numbers were on the decline due to human interference, climate change and excessive poaching and hunting.
Beg too shed light on the rare species found in the province and feared that their numbers were declining, calling for more efforts and awareness.
"The black francolin is nearly extinct in Sindh, with only two found in the wild over the last four years. We have quite a few greater flamingos but sadly the lesser flamingo is seemingly going extinct too," he explained, adding that the Alexandrine parakeet - known as the pahari tota - has been captured so much by poachers that it has become a distant dream for wildlife photographers to get a shot of it.
"As per estimates, these parakeets are found in cages more than in the wild, and rose-ringed parakeets are meeting the same fate too," he remarked, adding that black bucks were also once found in abundance in Sindh.
Calling for an end to poaching, Beg said his team educated people about birds, both native and guests, in their areas. "I am happy that many poachers are now stopped by area residents, who also tell us when they spot new birds," he smiled.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2020.