KARACHI: Climate Change Minister Senator Mushahidullah Khan on Saturday said that growing pollution in the seas was due to limited awareness among the masses and the insufficiency of proper infrastructure.
Speaking as a chief guest to mark the International Coastal Clean-up Day held at the Seaview Beach, the minister invited the media for playing its role in creating awareness on environmental degradation.
The event was held in collaboration with IUCN Pakistan, government of Sindh and other stakeholders.
Mushahid Ullah mentioned that due to a fast-growing population of the world, we would not be able to meet our future food requirement and thus human beings will have to turn to the oceans.
He lamented that “we have turned our coasts into waste dumps. Our seashores are stinking because of the waste dumped by us”.
The minister further said that the coastal cleanup and beautification event must be tapped as an opportunity to transform behaviours towards cleaner, healthier ocean waters, and coastal surroundings.
The minister said that the federal and provincial governments, NGOs, civil society organisations and individuals will have to come together to keep the coasts clean, reiterating that mangroves are the sanctuaries of the marine biodiversity.
The senator appreciated the efforts carried out by the IUCN in holding the event and for cleaning up the 3km beach which is thronged by hundreds and thousands of people every week.
“I would like to thank IUCN Pakistan for a leading role in coordinating this mega activity for collecting tonnes of solid and plastic waste from the Seaview Beach on this day”, the minister noted.
He also thanked Karachi Port Trust and Sindh Forest Department, Engro Foundation, UNDP, Nestle for their financial assistance.
Syed Abu Ahmed Akif, secretary of Ministry of Climate Change, and Inspector General Forests Syed Nasir Mahmood were also present on the occasion.
Around 1,000 students, youth and volunteers participated in the event which was aimed at the significance of clean coasts and oceans, said an IUCN statement.
In his opening remarks, IUCN country representative Mahmood Akhtar Cheema thanked the minister, participants, and guests. He appreciated the role played by the Ministry of Climate Change for leading the event and the other stakeholders for their support.
During the ceremony, the minister also launched two publications produced by IUCN Pakistan under its Mangroves for the Future Programme titled: Pakistan’s Coastal and Marine Resources and Valuation of Mangroves in PQA Indus Delta: An Econometric Approach.
Cheema briefed the media about the value of the mangroves in economic terms. He emphasised on the mangroves protection as they are a great asset for the coastal communities in terms of the seafood that they produce.
The organizations involved in the commemoration were: Sindh Forest Department; UN Environment; National Institute of Oceanography; Karachi Port Trust; SACEP; Engro Foundation; WWF Pakistan; Clifton Cantonment Board; Karachi Cantonment Board; district administration, Nestle Pakistan; United Nations Development Programme and National Forum for Environment and Health.
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