Astola island declared by the Govt as Pakistan’s first-ever marine protected area
Balochistan Government has issued a notification which has designated the Astola Island as country’s first ever Marine Protected Area.
This is a first major policy step towards protection and conservation of the marine life. The island is located approximately 25 km off the coast of Balochistan province, and is Astola island is Pakistan’s biggest offshore island.
Ecologically the island is important as its beaches provide nesting ground for the endangered green turtle and hawksbill turtle, furthermore a large variety of migratory birds are also supported by the island. Furthermore Astola’s saw-scaled viper is endemic to the island and due to the absence of a fresh water source it is treeless. while its vegetation consists of scrubs and large bushes. The island’s marine ecology supports a variety of corals, creating a breeding ground fora vast range of marine species.
The inhabited island has just two structures one being a light house, which was built in 1982 (but has been replaced by a solar powered one and the other a mosque.
The proposition to declare Astola a Marine Protected Area had came by an MPA. The proposal had then been taken forward by an IUCN Member, Indus Earth Trust, with support from other IUCN Members in Pakistan, at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 in Hawai’i through a motion. The motion was voted upon by a large number of IUCN Members at the Congress and subsequently adopted as Resolution 052. The proposal was made in response to increasing recognition that fishing communities in the vicinity now pose a threat to the island’s terrestrial and marine resources.
Fish stocks are gradually being depleted as large trawlers operate in the area. Feral cats, introduced by fishermen during their brief stopovers to the island to reduce the rodent population there, now pose a threat to wildlife breeding grounds. Furthermore, while the island has great potential for promoting nature-based eco-tourism and conducting conservation research, such activities must be regulated if the island’s natural resources and aesthetic beauty are to be preserved. IUCN’s role will be to assist with the technical methodology for establishing such an area.
The reason for awarding the island a protected status, according to the notification, is to protect, conserve and restore species, habitat, biodiversity, and ecological processes which may be adversely affected as a result of human activities or otherwise.
The notification says “Change in land and sea use shall not be allowed in the protected area except with prior permission of the government, where the change is likely to enhance the conservation value of the protected area in terms of biodiversity and other elements of nature subject to and within the permitted scope of Convention on Biological Diversity.”
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