WETLANDS OF PAKISTAN

Wetlands are areas such as swamps, bogs, and marshes where the soil and surface area are usually covered with water throughout the year. Natural wetlands, whether permanent or seasonal, exist as peat lands, rivers, streams, lake marshes, estuaries, mudflats and intertidal areas. In the past, wetlands were considered as wastelands and many were drained to create farmland or to develop land for housing and industrial use. Though rich in biodiversity, these areas have traditionally been neglected both in terms of conservation and sustainable development.

Contrary to past notions, wetlands are in fact the most productive ecosystems on Earth and serve many vital functions. They filter the water by removing pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides and silt, maintain water quality, and replenish and purify surface and ground water supplies. They provide a vital habitat for wildlife and migratory birds, play a central role in the livelihood of local communities and also aid in flood and erosion control by absorbing excess water. The thick vegetation found in wetlands provides a safe haven and plentiful food supply for the young of many fish, crabs, and other small creatures who begin life in wetlands. Wetlands are home to a great variety of plant and animal species, some endangered, that have evolved to live in the wetland's unique conditions.

Pakistan has an estimated 780,000 hectares of wetlands that cover 9.7% of its total surface area. As many as 225 significant wetlands sites are on record in the prototype Pakistan Wetlands GIS Database - of which 19 have been internationally recognized by the Ramsar Convention Bureau as being of global importance. The Ramsar Convention on wetland protection is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971. Some of the sites in Pakistan protected under this treaty include Haleji Lake, Keenjhar (Kalri) lake, and Astola (Haft talar) Island and Uchali lake Complex etc.

Pakistans wetlands support a wide variety of important plant and animal species which also includes a range of threatened, endemic and endangered species such as the Blind Indus Dolphin, Punjab Urial, Marsh Crocodile and Green and Olive Ridley turtles, along with many types of migratory birds like the white-headed duck. Pakistans wetlands are used as wintering grounds by Siberian Cranes, Sarus Cranes, Greater Flamingoes and Spotbilled Pelicans etc.

Our wetlands are generally degrading due to several human induced threats including; conversion of wetlands and their immediate surroundings for agriculture and other purposes, damming of rivers and changes in water flow regimes, over harvesting of many forms of wetlands resources, felling of timber and deforestation of catchments areas, organic and inorganic pollution of wetlands, policy deficiencies and inadequate management. While the country is making efforts to conserve its wetlands, it is constrained in its efforts by the lack of human expertise and financial resources and immediate political and economic problems. Anonymous