Report

WWF Wetland Centre

Shah Usama Sohail

02-101192-006
Mam Rashida Qari
The Wetland Centre is located at Sandspit, West of Karachi, in the middle of mangrove forests.
It is 35 minutes’ drive away from the city. The beach opposite to the Centre adds attraction to
it, as Green turtles come to the Sandspit beach for nesting every year. The migratory birds from
Central Asia also use the surrounding area of the Centre for staging and feeding. More than 125
species of birds have been recorded here. Dalmatian Pelicans and Flamingoes, Gulls, Tern, and
Waders are a few of them.

To fulfill the needs of conservation of the wetlands of Pakistan and environmental education,
WWF - Pakistan decided to establish a centre in 1996 with funding provided by the Directorate
General for International Cooperation (DGIS) through World Wide Fund for Nature
International. The Wetland Centre at Sandspit was officially inaugurated on February 13, 2001.

Mangroves
A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is
also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species.
Mangroves are important to people because they help stabilize Florida's coastline ecosystem
and prevent erosion. Mangroves also provide natural infrastructure and protection to nearby
populated areas by preventing erosion and absorbing storm surge impacts during extreme
weather events such as hurricanes.

Mangroves in Pakistan
Pakistan is blessed with rich and diverse
natural resources. One of them is the
mangrove ecosystem which develops
well along the muddy to sandy coast. In
term of area Pakistan has 0.6 million
hectares of mangrove ecosystem,
probably the tenth largest in the world.
They are distributed along the coast of
Sindh and Baluchistan. The largest
concentration, approximately 95%, is
found in Sindh Province.

Threats and challenges for

mangroves
Many thousands of acres of mangrove forest have been destroyed to make way for rice
paddies, rubber trees, palm oil plantations, and other forms of agriculture. Farmers often use
fertilizers and chemicals, and runoff containing these pollutants makes its way into water
supplies. Despite their resilience, mangroves can tolerate only a limited amount of industrial
and agricultural pollution without dying. In addition, waterways are often diverted for irrigation
or paved over for roadways, which alter the natural flow of water. Because mangrove forests
are adapted to tidal fluctuations, they can be destroyed by such changes to their habitats.

Green sea turtles

The Green Turtle is the largest of the hard-shelled sea
turtles (the Leatherback Dermochelys can grow much
larger) although size, weight, and carapace shape can vary
markedly between different populations. Average nesting
female carapace length 80 to 110cm and weighs 110 to
185kg. The beaches of Pakistan are some of the most
important nesting grounds for the Green Turtles. Each
year thousands of female Green Turtles come to the
beaches of Hawksbay and Sandspit off the coast of
Karachi to lay their eggs. The Sind Wildlife Department in
collaboration with WWF-Pakistan is working on a project for safe release of turtle hatchling to
the Arabian sea since 1980's. Green Turtle nests are laid throughout the year, with most nests
occurring between July and December. The egg are carefully kept in closed enclosers and
released after the hatchlings are hatched.
Importance of mangroves
The economic importance of mangroves in Pakistan largely comes from the fishery resource
that they harbor. An estimated 80% of the fish caught in coastal waters spend at least part of
their life cycle as fry in the mangrove creeks, or depend on the food web within the mangrove
ecosystem. Shrimp fishery is the major fish export of mangroves, accounting for 68% of the
$100 million of the foreign exchange the country earns from fisheries exports. The mangrove
swamps of the Sindh coastal zone are extensive, covering 243,000 hectares (ha) compared with
7,400 ha along the Baluchistan coast.

Issues of Marine Pollution

The environmental pollution issues in the coastal zone of Pakistan have arisen mainly due to
indiscriminate discharge of untreated effluents, domestic sewage and solid wastes, as well as
agricultural runoff from coastal dwellings into the marine coastal environment.
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