Tackling Poverty in Pakistan's Coastal Community through Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods Project
Location
Pakistan – Sandspit and Keti Bundar on the Sindh coast and Sonmiani and Kalmat Khor on the Balochistan coast.
Period
March 2003 to February 2007
Sponsors
European Union and WWF-UK
Goal
Coastal communities with improved livelihoods through sustainable natural resource use.
Purpose
The project aims at improving the sustainable livelihood of 29, 000 people of four coastal communities of Pakistan by achieving sustainable use of the mangroves and fishing ecosystems on which their livelihoods depend. These communities are extremely poor and mostly rely (90%) on fishing. However, the mangrove ecosystems on which they depend are under threat from a combination of internal and external factors. Also, the project aims to build the capacities of coastal communities so that they are better able to advocate against threats to their livelihoods and for better services, through increased organization and improved links with the district governments, micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and advocacy platforms.
Project Approach
The project entails a two-pronged approach to achieve its objectives, as follows:
• Initiating advocacy with other partners to address some of the root causes natural resource degradation and threats to livelihoods which are outside the control of individual communities.
• Adopting learning centred approach and disseminating lessons to other communities, thereby stimulating best practice over the wider area.
Project Implementation Strategy
Project strategy has a number of complementary strands:
• Enabling the communities to address locally the threats to livelihoods originating within the community – principally encouraging sustainable and equitable use of fish and wood natural resources.
• Empowering the communities and individuals within them to interact with outside service providers to improve the value added from fishing and improve service development.
• Facilitating the communities and other support organisations to effectively advocate on the threats to livelihood that originate from outside the community.
• Working in a way that ensures that lessons learnt and advocacy victories have benefits beyond the four target communities.
Project outcomes
The strategy will be implemented by achieving specific changes both within and outside the four communities, as follows:
• Sustainable management of fisheries resources
• Increased income from fishing through value addition
• Sustainable management of mangroves ecosystem
• Reduction in external threats to local livelihoods
• Increased community organisational capacity
• Dissemination of lessons learned beyond the project
Mangrove Ecosystem of Pakistan
Introduction
The coastline of Pakistan is 1050 km long and 40-50 km wide shared by the provinces of Sindh (350 km) and Balochistan (700 km). In the Sindh province, mangroves are found in the Indus Delta which occupies approximately 600,000 ha extending from Korangi Creek in the north to Sir Creek in the South. Indus Delta comprises 17 major creeks, numerous minor creeks and extensive mudflats and constitutes 97% of total mangrove forests found in Pakistan. Mangroves of Indus delta are unique in being the largest arid climate mangroves in the world. The survival of these forests is largely associated with perennial freshwater supplies from the River Indus, which flows through the delta before reaching the Arabian Sea. An area of 344,845 ha of the Indus delta has been declared as protected forests and is under the control of Sindh Forest Department (Qureshi 1985). The Indus Delta is believed to have had as many as eight manrgove species in the past. However, at present only four species have been left. Nearly 95% of the mangroves located in the Indus Delta comprise the species Avicennia marina. Very small patches of Ceriops tagal and Aegiceras corniculatum are found near the mouth of the Indus at Keti Bunder. Rizophora mucronata and Ceriops tagal have been introduced in the indus delta through replantation work.
In Balochistan province, the mangroves occur at three sites, Miani Hor, Kalmat Khor and Gwatar bay. Total area under mangrove cover in all three sites has been estimated to be 7,340 ha (Mirza et al., 1986). This area is equal to 3% of total mangroves found in Pakistan. Miani Hor is the only area in Pakistan where three species of mangrove Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata and Ceriops tagal occur naturally.
Significance
• Provide nursery for fish, shrimp and crabs.
• Constitute a complex supporting diversity of plants and animals.
• Protect coastline and sea ports from erosion and siltation.
• Act as natural barrier to cyclones and tsunamis.
• Provide habitat and breeding ground for marine life and migratory birds.
• Meet fuelwood and fodder requirements of local communities.
• Serve as a source of education, research and recreation.
Threats to Mangrove Ecosystem
Internal
• Over cutting of mangrove trees for fuel wood and commercial purposes
• Grazing by camels
• Harmful fishing practices (harmful nets, longer fishing hours, dumping of unwanted fish)
• Shift from agriculture and livestock rearing sectors to the fishing sector
• Fishermen burdened by debts
External
• Over fishing by deep sea trawlers.
• Pollution (land-based and marine).
• Reduced freshwater flows into the Indus delta.
• Insufficient and disintegrated policies.
Amazing Mangrove Values
One hectare of mangrove forest, if properly managed, will produce an annual yield of 100 Kg of fish, 25 Kg of shrimps, 15 Kg of crab meat, 200 Kg of molluscs and 40 Kg of sea cucumbers (UNEP 1990)
