Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
July- 2005
Sindh Programme Office I U C N- The World Conservation Union Parin Lodge 2-Bath Island Road Karachi -75530, Pakistan Phone: (92 -21) 5374072- 75 FAX: (92- 21) 5838106
Draft for Internal Review Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
Table of contents
About this..i Summary...ii 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................7 2. Objectives of the compendium ....................................................................................................... 10 3. Overview of the coastal and marine environment ............................................................................ 10 3.1 Climate and Oceanography of the Arabian Sea......................................................................... 10 3.2 Sindh Coast............................................................................................................................ 11
3.2.1 Karachi Coast ................................................................................................................11 3.2.2 The Indus Deltaic Coast ................................................................................................11
3.3 Balochistan Coast ................................................................................................................... 12
7.1.1 Fisheries replenishment, food security and economics.................................................22 7.1.2 Protection from natural disasters and climate change ...................................................23
7.2 International obligations ........................................................................................................... 25 8. Strategic, integrated, participatory system planning ......................................................................... 25 8.1 Linking the CMPA system with Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) ....................................... 26
8.1.1 Integrated Coastal Management ....................................................................................26 8.1.2 Sustainable Fisheries Development ..............................................................................26 8.1.3 Linking CMPAs with sustainable livelihoods ..............................................................27
8.1.4 Building strong Scientific basis....26 9. A comprehensive and representative network of CMPAs ................................................................. 29 9.1 Representativeness, comprehensiveness and balance.............................................................. 29 9.2 Adequacy ............................................................................................................................... 29 9.3 Coherence and complementarity.............................................................................................. 30 9.4 Consistency............................................................................................................................ 30 9.5 Cost effectiveness, efficiency, equity and community support ..................................................... 30 9.6 Refuge to climate change ........................................................................................................ 30 10. Existing coastal PAs and potential sites for incorporation into the CMPA network ............................ 31 10.1 Cape Monze Churna Island Sandspit Hawks Bay ........................................................... 38 10.2 Miani Hor ............................................................................................................................. 38 10.3 Hingol National Park (and Dhrun Wildlife Sanctuary) ............................................................... 39
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
Fig 1. The eco regional map of coastal and marine areas in IPI of Arabian Sea. (Kelleher 1995) Overfishing, damaging pollution, habitat destruction and other impacts of human activities in the sea and from land are causing increasing damage to coastal and marine environments. Current practices are failing to sustain the productivity, biological diversity and ecosystem services of marine ecosystems. The consequences of this failure are serious and far-reaching. The most obvious effect is seen in impacts on the longstanding and widespread use of marine resources for sea food. While the global fish catch stabilized briefly in the 1980s (Watson & Pauly 2001) it has since then been in consistent decline (Pauly et al 2002). (Fig. 2)
Fig. 2 Estimated global fish landings for the period 1950 to 1999, corrected for over reporting of China catch and without the catch of Peruvian anchovetta (Watson et al 2001).
Fig. 3. Estimated national fish landing pattern for the period 1985 to 1997, study based on two most common traits fishes. ( Source: Sindh Fisheries department) The coast of Pakistan constitutes the northern boundary of the Arabian Sea, with oceanic influences dominating over those of the continent, which is essentially a subtropical dessert. River flows are monsoonal, with the only major freshwater input coming from the Indus, at the eastern extremity that discharges some 150 MAF of water and 450 million tons of suspended sediment annually and forms the Indus cone, a subaqueous delta 1,5002,000 kilometers long (Pernetta 1993). Currents in the Arabian Sea result from the removal of surface water during the summer monsoon and its replacement by cooler upwelling water (Sheppard, Price, and Roberts 1992). The Pakistani coast has tides of up to a 3.5-meter range (Pernetta 1993). Pakistan lies in the northwestern part of the Indian ocean that form the Arabian sea. Indo-Pacific (IP1) region according to Chiffings (1992). To its west rests Iran, its east India, and southwest Oman. The coastline stretches for about 1,000 km, along two coastal provinces, Sindh (320 km) and Balochistan (670 km). The total area of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is about 240,000km. The continental shelf is the broadest off the Sindh coast and the narrowest point (16-24km) is of the Balochistan coast where the shelf has a sharp drop in the coastal slope. (Fig. 4)
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Source: (R.Rajagopalan and A. Lakshmi 2003) The need to protect and wisely utilize the coastal ecosystems is urgent. Coastal and marine protected areas (CMPAs), identified based on scientific evidence and socio-economic considerations, forming networks consisting of small marine sanctuaries and larger multiple use complexes, provide the opportunities for biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management. When effectively managed within a sound framework of integrated coastal management and sustainable fisheries management, the network of CMPAs should contribute positively, and over the long-term, tangible assets to local people, provinces and the central government. On the other hand, CMPAs may be seen as indispensable tools as well as integral parts of ICM and sustainable fisheries management.
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Fig. 5. The creek system of Indus delta.( SUPARCO Satellite images 2003)
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4.2 Mangroves
Mangroves (i.e forest of woody halophytes occurring in inter-tidal areas of the tropics and sub-tropics) are very important features of sheltered shores, estuaries, tidal creeks and salt marshes. These are increasingly understood as playing crucial ecological, chemical and bio-physical roles in the tropical marine ecosystem, as nursery grounds, filtering systems and in shoreline stabilization. They also contain a highly specialized community of plants and associated fauna. The mangrove ecosystems of Pakistan mammals. Forest birds live in the mangrove provide habitats for wildlife of both terrestrial forest while marine animals migrate inshore, and marine origins. They provide food and as far as salinity permits. The shelter to fish and water fowls as well as many mammals. Forest birds live in the mangrove forest while marine animals migrate inshore, as far as salinity permits. The mangrove swamps are important nurseries and supply nutrients for economically important fish species. The wildlife of terrestrial origin which still survives in the delta consists of a variety of birds, and several species of mammals. (Fig. 7) Fig.7. Submerged Mangroves at intertidal area Among the birds, the commonly occurring important species are: white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), grey heron (Ardea cinerea), painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala), spoon bill ( Platalea leucorodia), greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus ), osprey ( Pandion haliaetus), Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), oystercatcher (Haematotus ostralegus ), whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), curlew (Numenius arquata), avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), plovers, sand pipers, gulls and terns. The mammals include the jackal (Canis aureus), jungle cat (Felis chaus ), small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus ), house rat (Rattus rattus), five-striped palm squirrel ( Funambulus pennanti), plumbeous dolphin (Sousa plumbea) and little Indian porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides).and reptiles.
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Fig. 8 The coastline of Pakistan as seen through satellite images The mangrove ecosystem flourished in the past when flushing of the Indus River was natural and normal. Due to repeated damming of the river and some of its tributaries, water flow of the Indus has been reduced drastically from 150 MAF to 10 MAF. Consequently salinity in the Indus delta region has risen due to sea intrusion. Moreover, the overexploitations o mangroves for f fuel wood and fodder, and impacts of pollution, are the major causes of mangrove degradation in Pakistan.
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Fig. 10. Olive Ridlay and their eggs found on the sandy beaches. Although most of the Balochistan coast is lined with sandy beaches, the total length that is well-suited to turtle nesting is limited. Nevertheless, five species of marine turtles have been reported from the Balochistan coast. Large numbers of green turtles a known to visit its beaches for nesting. Olive re Ridley turtles are also common visitors, although their numbers are low in comparison with green turtles. Few sandy beaches are visited by marine turtles regularly. The most important turtle nesting beaches are at Ormara, Astola island and Jiwani. Nestling takes place throughout the year with peak activity in the months of October to December for green turtles and July to August for Olive Ridleys. Most of the turtle beaches are located in inaccessible and remote areas and are therefore not easily disturbed.
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Fig.12.
Fisherman
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The Indus River is part of a major flyway for birds between Siberia and warmer lands to the south. Human interventions in the flow of the Indus River have dramatically altered the riverine and coastal ecology, with for example, a major recent decrease in flow rates and annual discharge of sediment (60 million tons compared to historical values of 450 million tons).
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Ports
Karachi Port Trust, Fish Harbor Authorities and Port Qasim Authority.
Ministry of Environment Local Govt. and Rural Development. Land Revenue Departments under Provincial Governments 10 Fisheries Provincial sea fisheries Sindh Fisheries department and Ordinance Marine Fisheries department. 11 EEZ Territorial Waters and Pakistan Maritime Security Maritime Zones Act 1979 Agency, Pakistan Coast Guards, Port and Harbor Authorities. Source:(R.Rajagopalan and A. Lakshmi 2003) and (Pernetta, 1993) There is a well established legislative framework for environmental management in Pakistan. The Environment and Urban Affairs Division (E&UAD) within Ministry of Housing, Works, Environmental and Urban Affairs, is the main Government organization responsible for the protection of environment and resource conservation. The E&UAD works closely with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) and the Federal and Provincial Environmental Agencies formed under PEPA, 1997. A number of other institutions exist in the governmental structure which are concerned primarily with resource augmentation and conservation and which carry out resource surveys, and monitoring of relevance to environmental protection. These include the following federal Ministries: Planning and Development Finance and Revenue Economic Affairs and Statistics. Food, Agriculture and Cooperatives Local Government and Rural Development Health, Social Welfare
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
Land Use
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There are some governmental and non governmental organizations and research organizations that are mainly involved in protection and conservation of marine environment include the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Marine Fisheries Department, Sindh and Balochistan Forest and Wildlife Departments, Maritime Security Agency, IUCN, WWF and Centre o Excellence for Marine f Biology, Karachi University. The main motivation for C & M protected area system planning arises from nation level consensus about integrating protected areas with other aspects of sustainable developments. Protected areas are an integral part of a strategy for managed conservation of biodiversity and natural and cultural heritage as well. Protected area system plans are called for under article 8 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, where protected area are seen as having an important role in conservation of biodiversity, alongside conservation in a range of other contexts. The Caracas Action Plan also identified national protected area system plan as desirable priority. A protected area is identified as an area of land and/ or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated wetland resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. The definition does not require that the area necessarily be land or any particular tenure, or that management be carried out by any particular level of Government,.( or even by Government rather than non government parties). Many places serve important nature conservation functions, yet fall outside the definition of protected area because the primary objective in managing those particular lands is sometimes other than biodiversity conservation (e.g. timber production) to re designate some such areas so that nature conservation is recognized as the primary objective. But even under the most conservationoriented scenario it is not likely that protected area will ever take in all or even a major part of most countries. For this and many other practical reasons, protected areas must be a part of an integrated system and should be complemented by conservation activities on coastal and marine areas in wide range of different land uses. Pakistan has made progress towards establishment of system of terrestrial protected area which represents its biodiversity and environment types, but substantial obstacles remain to achieve system balance and sustainability. Sustainability is identified as a key issue. If it is to be achieved, considerable efforts will need to go into development of institutional capacities, and into a wide range of appropriate mechanisms to support local level involvement. A wider range of flexible model is called for. Under current provincial and territorial legislation, only three categories of PAs have been established: Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks and Game Reserves. Private g ame reserves, however, may be established in Punjab, NWFP and Federal territory. Any area of land that is government property, or over which the government has proprietary right, may be declared as one of the above categories, including game reserves, the latter also including privately owned lands. In additional to these legally-based categories, a number of other types of PA have been created over the years and appear on national lists of protected areas. These include a crane refuge, a wildlife refuge, wildlife parks, as well as wilderness and native parks. Regarding wilderness and Native Park. legislative reforms, which may be a necessary and / desirable part of this review, are always complex and difficult (sometimes uncertain or impossible). It will be desirable to adopt strategies which enable the objectives to be pursued as much as possible within existing structure. Coastal Environment Management Plan for Pakistan (CEMP 1996) The Coastal Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) for Pakistan was prepared in 1996 by Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(ESCAP) in collaboration with Government of Pakistan. The CEMP was never implemented, however covers a large variety of subject relating to coastal zone development and management. The physical setting, ecology and status of living and
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Fig. 14. A view of Tsunami devastation and its severity . Indeed global climate change continues to cause, and is expected to escalate, wideranging impacts on the coastal and marine ecosystems and resource base on which local communities livelihoods and economy depend. Since the first contemporary broad scale coral bleaching and die offs brought about by the ENSO (El Nino / Southern Oscillations) event in the early 1980s, the occurrence of such events has increased at unprecedented rates and scales, as noted during the 1997-98 ENSO event which killed one tenth of the worlds coral reefs (Hodgson and Liebeler, 2002), and the subsequent one in 2002. While natural ecosystems have evolved with resistance and the ability to recover (resilience) from disturbances, the unprecedented rates and severity of such disturbances, adding on top of other non-climate related human-induced stresses, notably over fishing, pollution and habitat loss through coastal development, have severely reduced ecosystems resistance
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Treaties Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Convention on Wetlands of International importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNESCO Man and Bioshpere (MAB) programme International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships UN Convention to Combat Desertification Convention of Biological Diversity
Washington
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1976
Iran
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1982 Supports
UNCLOS
MAB MARPOL
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1996 1979
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8.1 Linking the CMPA system with Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)
Called for by the CBD, the integration of MPAs into a broader ICM (including marine areas) framework can be based on the combination of the following approaches and tools (Cicin-Sain and Belfiore, 2003): Integrating MPA management into a broader strategy for the coastal area; Integrating MPA management into existing planning processes; Expanding land- and sea-use planning as a system of managing human activities; Integrating MPA management into existing institutional arrangements for coastal and marine management; Mainstreaming coastal and marine biodiversity conservation and use into other sectors; Promoting the coordination of sectoral policies affecting MPAs; Implementing MPA management activities through existing administrative, institutional, research and other frameworks; Establishing monitoring and evaluation and management effectiveness assessment procedures; Ensuring coordination at the regional level; Ensuring coordination of donor efforts.
The BCS therefore recognizes explicitly the role of PAs in sustainable development, and places equal importance to the integration of coastal and fisheries development in the context of sustainable development. Indeed the designation of CMPAs will not be of use if it is done without considerations of their surrounding development pressures and socio-political environments, all of which could impact severely on the viability of the CMPAs.
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9.2 Adequacy (Biogeography, diversity, larval dispersal, rarity and population viability)
Integrity, sufficiency of spatial extent and arrangement of contributing units, together with effective management, to support viability of the environmental processes and/or species, populations and communities which make up the biodiversity of the country (Davey, 1998). The network approach allows the coverage of sites from a wide range of biogeographic and environmental conditions, and supports marine organisms of varying dispersal distances which may serve as source populations for recolonization in other PAs of the network or areas outside the PAs (Done, 2001; Hansen, et al. 2003). The network approach also helps to spread the risk of total loss from a single disturbance event. Sound knowledge of oceanographic conditions and reproductive
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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9.4 Consistency
Application of management objectives, policies and classifications under comparable conditions in standard ways, so that the purpose of each unit is clear to all and to maximise the chance that management and use support the objectives (Davey, 1998). One of the main purposes of the IUCN PAs management classification is to promote a scheme of PA types based on management objectives, and emphasising that management should flow consistently from those objectives. In addition, a comprehensive review and possible revisions/additions of the existing legislative and institutional frameworks concerning PAs, coastal development and fisheries management, would also enable clear definitions of the management objectives, as well as the legal and institutional arrangements of potential CMPAs.
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Fig 15. Potentially identified Coastal and Marine area along the Pakistani coast
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Coral communities
Algal communities
Sindh, Karachi
Cape Monze Churna Island Sandspit Hawks Bay Miani Hor Hingol including Ras Malan Ormara Kalmat Khor
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10.1 Cape Monze/Churna Island/ Sandspit Hawks Bay turtle beaches/ west coast back water Mangroves 10.1.1 Site description
Cape Monze a high cliff projecting into the Arabian Sea, is located on the extreme south west of Karachi. It was once an estuarine area of the Hab River. The fresh water discharge from the Hab River has been disrupted as a result of construction of Hab dam and there is no fresh water available within several kilometers of the river mouth. The river estuary thus remains mostly dry, except during heavy rainfall or in flood season (July-September). Tidal influence on the estuary extends as far as 3 km upstream of the river mouth. Along the river banks are small rocky hills which rise about 20-25m above mean sea level. There are sandy beaches and rocky shores in the C ape Monze. Several rocky islands and submerged rocks near the river mouth provide partial protection to the coast from the south west monsoonal waves. Near the headland, the beach shores evidence of waves erosion in the form of understanding. The sandy coast line has brown colored sand and the grain size varies from silt to fine gravel.(Snead 1969) At Cape Monze the second largest uninhabited offshore island Churna is located. Its size is 30m x 150m. Within and around this island has the concentration of bio-diversity. There are definite scientific evidences that a big coral community has been lived in this area. Till today the dead corals have been collected by the neighboring villages.
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
Marine mammals
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10.1.2 Biodiversity
Along the west coast of Karachi there are small islands carrying mangroves consisting of Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata and Ceriops tagal.. The area has not been managed and an estimated total area falls around 500 hectares. ( SUPARCO-IUCN 2003). These forests are with Port Trust and Karachi District Government. At present the most dominant species is Avicennia marina , which is a good fodder for cattle (Camels). The mangrove ecosystem of Karachi coast provides habitat for wildlife of terrestrial and marine origin. Probably no other habitats in the marine environment are associated with such a variety of fauna as the mangrove swamps does. They provide food and shelter to fish and waterfowl, as well as to many mammals. The mangrove swamps acts as nurseries and nutrient suppliers for economically important fish species. Some of the forest birds move seawards to live on the branches of mangroves, on the surface of mud, while marine animals migrate inland as far as the salinity permits. Many marine animals live on the trunks and roots of the mangroves.( Ahmed 1983b)
Fig .16. The Satellite view of Hawks Bay and Cape Monze area. The mammals of Cape Monze block include dolphins, porpoises and occasionally visited by toothed Wales. Two species of marine dolphin and porpoises have been reported.
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Fig. 17. Dolphin in the area There is little information available on the reptiles of coastal and marine areas of Karachi. Three species of lizards and one species of poisonous snake and two species of marine snakes have been reported. Although about 200 species of fishes have been reported from the delta area, the true resident fish species of delta are few. The mudskippers, mullets, scads, terapons, halfbeaks, silver biddies, pony fishes and some clupeids could be categorized as the fishes which spent their entire life span or most part of its life in the area. Some of the common fishes which move in and out with tides are the sardines, anchovies, herrings, eels, barracuda and snappers. The crustaceans form a major component of fauna. They include crabs, penaeid, prawns, caridians, barnacles and isopods etc. Shrimps are the most important commercial food source in the benthic coastal waters. There are at least 15 different species found around Karachi, of which the large white prawn is known in the trade as Jaira is the most priced and valuable, The demersal fishing grounds are located mostly in shallow waters. Sharks and some of the other species however, are fished in comparatively deeper waters. Important fishing grounds where fishing is done with bottom set gillnets and submerged drift gillnets are located in shallower areas all along the coast. These include Khori great bank off Karachi ( Paradise Point Cape Monze), off Sonmiani etc. Fishing grounds for long liner ( for demersal fish) are located in the area with rocky and reef bottoms especially off paradise point, Cape Monze Churna island etc. Deep sea fishing operation for demersal fish using stern trawler and pari trawler is mostly concentrated in Khori Great Bank and around swatch off Indus delta. The green turtle (Chelonia mydes) and Olive Ridley ( Lepidochelys olivacea) are found on a strech of 35 Km on the shore of Karachi, in Hawks Bay and Sandspit, Both are endangered species. Currently , the marine turtles are in a fortunate position in Sindh, as they have not been accepted as a food source. The eggs are sometimes used in indigenous medicine and considered to have medicinal value as a cure of asthma. The Sindh Wildlife and Forest department and World wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have started a protection and research programme for marine turtle since 1982-83. The inter tidal area of Karachi west coast also provide food and shelter to a number of endemic species of birds. Some of them are migratory. The more common among them are Oystercatcher, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover , Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Curlew, Marsh Sandpiper and Sandpiper. The common migratory water fowl of Karachi coast included a variety of Ducks, Dunlin, Redshank, Coot, white Pelicans, Flamingos and Spoonbills.
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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Fig. 18. Satellite interperatation of Miani Hor. It then runs parallel to the shoreline in the shape of an arc, the extreme end of which almost lies in the same line as the mouth itself, except that a strip of land intervenes in between. Two seasonal rivers enter the bay (Saifullah 1982), Porali River drains through the Bela region and empties into the central part, whereas Windar River enters it near the mouth of the bay. The total area of the site is 60,000 ha. Miani Hor represents 42% (3434 ha) of the total cover of mangroves in Balochistan. The three species of the mangroves in this area are :Avicennia marina, Ceriops tagal and Rhizophora mucronta.
10.2.2 Biodiversity
It is an important staging and wintering area for migratory shorebirds, cranes, and flamingos. 52 species of water birds have been recorded from the area. With the exception of a few pockets of mangroves there is hardly any significant vegetation. Behind the beach area, the sand dunes appears mainly dominated by salt tolerant shrubs and vines are found; these consists of Salsola foetida, Calligonum polygonides, Haloxylon salicornicum; and the vine Ipomea pescaprae , Often found on the coastal dunes but generally growing several hundred behind the salt spray, are desert plants of the sandy plains.
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10.3.2 Biodiversity
The important mammals of the park are: Indian gazelle, urial, Sindh wild goat, fox, Jackal, porcupine and hedgehogs. The estuarine area is very important for the waterbirds. Species of special concern are: spot billed pelican (Pelecanus philippinus), dalmatian pelican ( Pelecanus crispus), black stork ( Ciconia nigra), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), crab plover (Dromas ardeola), stone plover (Burhinus ocdinemus ), golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarious), broad billed sandpiper (Limilicola falcinellus), wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola), green sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), sooty gull (Larus hemprichii), and whitetailed sea-eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Hingol river is important for supporting marsh crocodile and Mahseer. Coastal area is important for the nesting of green and pacific ridley turtle. Bottle nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phoceanoides) are seen near the coastal area (Azam 2004). The major part of the park which is hilly supports sparse vegetation of Salvadora, Capparis and Euphorbia etc. There are a number of plain valleys between the hills, some of which have the agriculture fields. Acacia and Zizyphus are common in the valleys. Adjacent to the coastline, there is a vast desert area with prominent sand dunes. Suaeda and Salsola spp. are quite common in the area
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10.4.2 Biodiversity
The site supports a considerable number of marine turtles, particularly the endangered green turtle, olive ridley turtle and possibly the hawksbill turtle as well. Nesting takes place along the beach at the foot of Kamgar hills at the western end of the west bay. Here the beach is in parts somewhat steeper in gradient then elsewhere around the bay. It is also edged by a near horizontal rocky foreshore platform for part of its length, and is backed at a distance of around 50-100 m by the precipitous Kamgar cliffs. The nesting beach extends for around 4 km in all, with the fishing village of Tak being sited about a km from its northern limits. West of Ormara west bay, there is sparse nesting along some 15 miles of the coast, extending west to Ras Basol. Migratory water birds visit the site but not in great numbers. The following species are quite commonly seen there during the season: oystercatcher, redshank, lesser sand plover, avocet, Kentish plover, ringed plover, dunlin, curlew, little tern, Caspian tern, black bellied tern, sandwich tern, whiskered tern, herring gull, slender billed gull and sooty gull Egyptian vulture and griffon vulture have also been recorded.
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10..5.2 Biodiversity
Though large mammals are not known to have existed on Astola island, small mammals such as rodents were once common. Their population later declined due to the introduction of domestic cats on the island in late 60s to control the population of rodents which were destroying the fishing nets. At present there are 12 to 16 cats on the island. Marine mammals like whales, dolphins and porpoises are reported to be seen in the surrounding sea water occasionally.
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10.6.2 Biodiversity
The area is rich in mammals, birds, reptiles and fishes. Ghalib e al (1979) recorded 30 t reptilian species from Makran area including Jiwani. Roberts (1991-1992) mentioned the distribution of 105 species of birds and 33 species of terrestrial mammals from Makran coast. Ahmad et al (1997) gave the distribution of 108 species of fishes, 83 species of birds and 6 species of reptiles in mangrove swamps of Balochistan coast. Arshad. et al (2002) conducted a periodical biological assessment of Mekran Coastal Complex that includes areas of Jiwani Tehsil. They reported 125 birds, 11 mammals ( both marine and terrestrial) and 12 reptiles. In flora, the team recorded 11 tree species, 13 shrubs, 15 herbs and 7 grass species. WWF-Pakistan (2002-2004) has recorded 112 species of birds from Jiwani, under its project on Conservation of Biodiversity in Gwater Bay ( Jiwani) on Balochistan coast. Occurrence of two species of marine turtles i.e green turtle ( Chelonia mydas) and olive ridley ( Lepidochelys olivacea) and their nesting population on Jiwani beach was also recorded under the project. The large mammal population is now scarce. It has been reported by the locals that once chinkara was caught through the racing four wheels drive in Dasht area but now it is rarely seen. Hyaenas and jungle cat and desert cat are distributed in the area. Jackal (Fig. 22) is still commonly found. Among the marine mammals, humpback or plumbeous dolphins are commonly observed offshore and black finless porpoise has also been reported from the area. Whales are also observed off the shore.
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Government of Balochistan and IUCN Pakistan (2000) - Balochistan Conservation Strategy. IUCN Pakistan and Government of Balochistan. Hanna, R.G.M. 1982. Abnormal fluoride concentrations in the Northwest Red Sea Coast. Proceedings of International Conference on Marine Science in the Red Sea, Al-Ghardaqa, Red Sea. Hanna, R.G.M. 1983a. Oil Pollution on the Egyptian Red Sea Coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 14(7): 26871. Hansen, L.J., Biringer, J.L., and Hoffman, J.R. (eds.) 2003. Buying Time: A Users Manual to Increase the Resistance and Resilience to Climate Change in Natural Systems. WWF Climate Change Program. Hodgson, G. and J. Liebeler, 2002. The Global Coral Reef Crisis: Trends and Solutions (1997-2001). Reef Check (www.reefcheck.org/infocenter/reefcrisis.asp) IUCN, 2005(a). Early observations of tsunami on mangroves and coastal forests Statement from IUCN Foresty Conservation Programme. www.iucn.org
Preliminary Compendium of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan
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von Rad, U., Schulz, H., Riech, V., den Dulk, M., Berner, U. & Sirocko, F. (1999): Repeated monsoon-controlled breakdown of oxygen- minimum conditions during the past 30,000 years documented in laminated sediments off Pakistan.- Paleogeography, Paleoclimat, Palaeoecology, 152, 129-161.
Watson R. & D. Pauly (2001).Systematic distortions in world fisheries catch trends, Nature 424: pp 534-536. Wells, J. T and J. M Coleman.1984. Deltaic morphology and sedimentology with special reference to the Indus river delta, In Haq, B. U, and J. D Milliman (Eds.) Marine Geology and Oceanography of the Arabian Sea and coastal Pakistan. Van Nostrand Rheinhold Co. pp 263-369 West,J. M, and R. V. Salm, 2003. Resistance and Resilience to Coral Bleaching: Implications for Coral Reef Conservationand Management: In Conservation Biology. Volume 17: 4. USA.
World Conservation Union (IUCN) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 1985a. Management and conservation of renewable marine resources in the Indian Ocean region: Overview. UNEP Regional Sea Reports and Studies No. 63. Nairobi. World Conservation Union (IUCN) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 1985c. Management and conservation of renewable marine resources in the Indian Ocean region: Overview. UNEP Regional Sea Reports and Studies No. 60. Nairobi.
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