Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, IUCN Regional Director Asia, Mr. Shah Murad Aliani, IUCN Pakistan Country Representative, Mr. Ghulam Qadir Shah and Mr. Rafiul Haq Natural Resource Experts briefed the media on the risk reduction mechanisms.

The speakers discussed that one of the most critical issues to come from this great tragedy is the staggering success of coastal greenbelts in Japan.  While the degree of devastation might imply otherwise, there are two things to keep in mind, the 200-300 meter wide coastal forest successfully buffered most of the wave energy, also, the land-use planning that kept the major population and financial centers from locating right on the coast (because of the greenbelts) not only saved countless lives, but will eventually help in making recovery more efficient. Although it is hard to imagine, this event would have been far, far worse were it not for those greenbelts.

Pakistan has a stretch of 990 km coastline which is mostly barren and exposed thus prone to natural disasters i.e. tsunami and cyclones. In 1945, Balochistan coast was hit by a massive Tsunami, resulting in 5000 deaths. Since then, there has been a regular occurrence of cyclones in the Indus Delta and along the coast of Sindh and Balochistan.  In 1999 Sindh coast was hit by a cyclone. In 2010, cyclone Phet ended up hitting Gwadar and Keti Bunder, resulting in loss of property in Gwadar and surrounding areas.

Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji mentioned that sea walls are only useful at the time of normal surges but are not very effective during Tsunami or cyclones. Quoting the example of the Asian Tsunami in 2004, she said “In India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia wherever there were plantation the damage was much less and the villages that had kept mangrove plantations and coral reefs intact, managed to survive”

She said that in 1930’s a Tsunami hit the Pakistan coast where height of the waves went up to 30 ft. However, fortunately with no or little habitation along the coast at that time, there was little damage done. If a Tsunami of this mangitude hits Karachi during present times there would be far more loss of life and property.

She cited Bangladesh as success story ”After a long history of cyclones hitting its coast during the 70’s and 80’s with a large number of deaths, there was a concentrated effort on planting mangroves in the last 10 years and building mud dykes along the coast. It was observed that cyclone waves had flattened the mangroves strip upto 30 Kilometers inland. Had there been no mangroves it could have gone in upto 60 Kilometers”.

Mr. Rafiul Haq emphasised on the positive impact of greenbelts during the Japan Tsunami by giving a presentation on before and after images of the areas along the coast. It was clear from the presentation that the greenbelts mitigated the effects of the diaster to a great extent.
He talked about the  “Mangroves for the Future Programme” that Pakistan has recently become a member of.

Through this program, it is hoped that by including small ngos and the private sector, it will ensure that the livelihood of around 400,000 people living along Pakistani coasts is better protected. 

Shah Murad Aliani talked about the usefulness of mangroves in mitigating the sea intrusion. Speaking on the occasion he said “Mangroves are a chepaer alternative than dykes and stonewalls. The year 2011 has been declared International Year of Forests, which gives us all the more reason to create awareness about this national asset.”

They informed that in the recent past the frequency of the natural calamities has increased manifold around the world due to climatic changes and we need to equip ourselves more effectively in the light of the lessons learned from the South Asian Tsunami in the year 2004 and the recent Japan Tsunami.

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

Madiha Aijaz, Coordinator, Communication, Education and Outreach
IUCN Pakistan. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
1 Bath Island, Clifton
Karachi. Phone: +92 21 35861540-2, Fax: +92 21 2271 017
madiha.aijaz@iucn.org

About IUCN

The world’s oldest and largest global environment network, IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, envisions a just world that values and conserves nature. IUCN helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and developmental challenges. It supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world and brings governments, non-government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice. The Union’s headquarters are located in Gland, Switzerland.

IUCN Pakistan is part of the IUCN’s Asia Regional Programme based in Bangkok, Thailand. Established in 1985 to assist in the preparation of Pakistan’s National Conservation Strategy, IUCN Pakistan has grown to become the largest country programme of IUCN. Together with its partners and members, it is implementing several conservation initiatives across the country through institutional strengthening, policy advocacy and field work. Currently there are 27 active members of IUCN in Pakistan, including the Government of Pakistan as the state member, six government agencies and 20 NGOs. Over 100 volunteers from Pakistan work in IUCN’s six specialised commissions.