KARACHI: Even though Pakistan is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and various other international protocols on environment protection e.g. UNCLOS, RAMSAR, MARPOL, the ballast water of ships, which is the main source of dispersal of different invasive marine animals around the globe, is not being monitored at the country’s ports and poses a great threat to the coastal ecosystem.
Karachi port handles over 2.5 million tons of liquid and dry cargo, constituting 80 percent of import/export of the country. Other departments involved include Civic agencies, Navy, Maritime Security Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Coastal Development Authorities, Fisheries Departments, and provincial Health Departments.
Non-indigenous organisms including phytoplankton, zooplankton, worms, larval mussels, juveniles of crabs and fish, minute jelly fish besides harmful micro organisms (bacteria, viruses) harm the local environment and spread diseases, disturbing the balance of nature.
The World Ocean Council (WOC) called on governments on October 26 to be careful in this regard. Governments had approved an international treaty in 2004 to control the spread of marine invasive species through ballast water, but nothing is being done, a press statement said.
It warned that the ballast water of cargo ships transports 7,000 to 10,000 marine species every day across the oceans and economic, social, recreational, and ecological losses/costs could be enormous. For example, zebra mussels accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes caused an estimated US $5 billion in damages to water pipes, boat hulls, and other hard surfaces, the statement said.
A senior taxonomist Qadeer Mohammad Ali has devised a proposal in collaboration with different international universities to present a solution to this problem. “The British Council has refused to finance the project because they don’t care so we have submitted it to Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are hoping to get a positive response,” Qadeer said while talking to Pakistan Today.
It is the duty of the port authorities to ban/allow ships after inspecting their ballast water but this was not the practice in the country, he said, adding that the project will help to evolve plans and strategies for habitat restoration by mitigating or reversing the damage done by invasive species and will help in improving the condition of the ecosystem.
The effective monitoring of ballast water would foretell about the entry of any potential pathogenic or poisonous organisms which could harm local communities, he said.
The proposed project would seek the transfer of technology on ballast water management; capacity building to quantify and manage the problem by involving academia and other organizations, coordination and interaction among the stake holders; baseline study on the inventorying of alien species in the coastal habitats of southern partner countries; compliance and enforcement of international guidelines, training people to raise awareness and the promotion of cooperation and replication of the technology among the partners and regional countries.
The partners of the project include Senior Taxonomist Qadeer Mohammad Ali of the University of Karachi, Prof Ehsan Mesbahi of Newcastle University, Assistant Professor and Research Scientist Dr AbuHena M. Kamal of University of Chittagong, Associate. Professor and Research Scientist Dr Ernest Tom Ndomahina at University of Sierra Leone, and Assistant Professor Yasser Abdul Kader Al-Jahwary of Hadhramout University for Science & Technology.
