STAFF REPORT ISB: Senate Standing Committee, on Planning, Development and reforms has stressed the need for resolving issues of non-conventional security threats of the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
In its recent meeting, the Senate committee discussed the serious issue of sea erosion.
Kareem Khawaja, on the occasion said “We need to understand the gravity of issue in the provinces which are facing serious threats of sea intrusion and land erosion”.
He asked the Federation to take interest in these issues and resolve them with the consensus of all provincial and political stakeholders.
Representative of the Ministry of Planning informed the meeting that sea intrusion and land erosion was a provincial government issue and commission was working under the central government.
He said that the issue of sea intrusion and land erosion was not part of the vision 2025.
The official from Pakistan Navy informed that they were keeping a constant eye on situation in the coastal areas and were regularly conducting studies in this regard. “We have complete data of the 990 Km coastal area of the country,” he added.
While briefing the committee, Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Chairman Rao Irshad Ali Khan said the authority had conducted a series of studies on the issues pertaining to water escapades below Kotri Barrage to check seawater intrusion, water release downstream of Kotri Barrage to address environmental concerns of all the four provinces.
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) director general said that climate change, through increased intrusion of sea water into the Indus deltaic region, could affect the whole range of marine life besides causing degradation of crucial ecosystems such as mangroves.