Who owns the islands?

A presidential ordinance was promulgated on August 31, 2020 to establish the Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA). The federal government has planned to build and develop two main islands, Bundal and Bundoo, near Karachi’s coast. The Sindh and federal governments are already at loggerheads, and this development has further intensified the battle.

Yet again, the Centre kept the parliament out of the loop. Without a parliamentary debate, rifts between Sindh and the federal government are inevitable. During a petition being heard on the matter in the Sindh High Court (SHC), Advocate Shahab Usto argued that the 18^th Amendment provides the province jurisdiction over water within 12 nautical miles. It was argued that such amendments should not be made through an ordinance, but passed by a two-thirds majority in the national and provincial assemblies.

The PPP vowed to take the matters to the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies. While this is the right step forward, we must understand the issue is much bigger than the rift between the Centre and provinces. The ecological consequences of such an initiative will affect the whole country and people from all walks of life.

A mixed message is being sent out; the debate should not be about who owns which island. These are Pakistan’s islands — crucial for the sustainability of our ecosystem. They are home to mangroves which mitigate the effects of global warming and help marine life thrive.

A research by the Mesoamerican Reef concluded that there are “25 times more fish close to mangrove areas than in areas where mangroves have been cut down”. This makes mangrove forests critically important to coral reefs and commercial fisheries. Nearly 25% of the ocean’s fish rely on healthy coral reefs. Today, however, due to accelerated climate change and global warming, more than 50% reefs have disappeared.

Without the protective role of mangroves, some small countries such as Maldives, Kiribati, and Marshall Islands, would simply not exist. Karachi’s land, especially in the south, isn’t safe from natural disasters either.

In Karachi, the coastal belt is home to mangroves which provide a substantial ecosystem to our marine life. The area is also home to local fishermen, who burn the midnight oil to feed their families. Amid the Covid-19 crisis — where livelihoods have been affected — we simply cannot abandon the fishermen community. That is the last thing any government should be doing.

A prominent environmentalist from Lahore, Dawar Butt, has highlighted how rising sea levels pose a grave threat to DHA Karachi residents and those close to the coastline. As global warming gains momentum, rising sea levels will bring destruction of unprecedented scale and nature.

Countries have already started investing in disaster risk management initiatives near coastal cities. When will Karachi take action? As a nation, we only take action at times of a natural disaster, when the damage has been already done. Once the threat is dealt with, we again forget about disaster risk management. This must change.

Special attention should be given to the sewage waste being dumped directly into the ocean. It’s alarming that 400 million gallons of untreated sewage is dumped into the sea daily — a silent killer for marine life. According to the Adviser to CM on Environment, Murtaza Wahab, the coastline is controlled and supervised by the federal government and CBC. We must keep politics aside and urgently reverse marine life’s misery here.

The federal government must not indulge in projects which could cause unrest. Let’s not forget the people of Karachi, the daily-wage workers, are still trying to recover from the torrential rains which destroyed their livelihoods. Instead of facilitating Karachiites, this will destroy the livelihoods of the fishermen community.

Instead of constant daggers drawn on who owns which island, the Centre and provincial government must not forget how ‘development’ here would impact the area’s biodiversity.

We all must be on the same page in reversing accelerated climate change and preventing irreparable damage to the planet and its inhabitants.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2020.

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