Flood aftermath: Forestry and fisheries department neglected by donors

There is full funding for in agriculture and livestock sectors, while forestry and fisheries are ignored.

ISLAMABAD: The forestry and fisheries department is probably the only sector severely damaged and destroyed by the recent devastating floods that has managed to miss donors’ attention and has not received a single penny towards its rehabilitation.

The catastrophic floods that managed to destroy almost every sector have also severely damaged the fisheries and forestry department. Forests all over the country and thousands of fish ponds have been damaged in Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), no donations in terms of cash have been made towards the sector.

“Whereas there is full funding in our other sectors such as agriculture and livestock, nobody has shown interest in funding this sector,” said Aly Khan from FAO.

“If there were donations made we would have started some work; this is the only category which has been neglected,” Khan added.

According to the official, there has been mass destruction of land and Sindh will remain a challenge as the damage is possibly more than what is seen. “Sindh is a challenge as it is still under water and the total damage assessment is still ongoing,” Khan said.

About 13,000 fish farms have so far been established across Pakistan. The size of these farms varies considerably; however, the average farm size ranges from 5-10 hectares.

A majority of the fish farms are located in Thatta, Badin and Dadu, the three districts through which the River Indus passes, and are listed amongst the worst-hit districts of the province.

In Punjab, farms are located mostly in irrigated areas or where there is abundant rain and the soil is alluvial. As a result, Sheikhpura, Gujranwala, and Attock districts have larger number of farms and constitute around three quarters of the total number of farms in Punjab.

As compared to other provinces, K-P has fewer farms, because of the climatic conditions. However, trout farms are located in Chitral, Swat, Dir, Malakand, Mansehra, Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) and other parts of the northern areas.

According to the official, due to the destruction of these sectors exports will also be affected. The fisheries sector of Pakistan co ntributes about one per cent to the country’s GDP and provides jobs for about one per cent of the country’s labour force.

According to estimates, about 50, 000 people are either directly or indirectly employed in the fisheries sector. “Poultry has been damaged in millions and fish farming is a part of it, there needs to be some attention drawn towards this sector,” said Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2010.