Zeenia Satti
RECENTLY, news was published that a flock of rare migratory greater flamingos was killed at Rawal Lake on June 3.
Pakistan constitutes an important route called the Indus Flyway for migratory birds, used by seasonal species traveling to and from northern Eurasia and southern Asia. Birds rely on this route, including wetlands and lakes in Pakistan, where they recuperate and find sustenance. Yet when migratory birds are brutalized in Pakistan, it rarely makes the news. Rarer still is law enforcement initiating criminal proceedings against poachers.
The Secretariat Police registered an FIR against four individuals for the illegal hunting and killing of flamingos at Rawal Lake. The Deputy Director of the Fisheries Department reported to the police that a flock of flamingos was resting at Rawal Lake on June 3 when they were targeted and killed by poachers with the help of local residents. Two among the four accused are fishing contractors. The Deputy Director of Fisheries described the slaughter of wild migratory birds as a severe violation under Sections 1 and 2 of the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act 2024, alongside Section 17 of the Fisheries Ordinance 1961.
We welcome sensitivity to this issue. Birds constitute a vital component of the ecosystem in so far as their existence is essential for food chains and agricultural sustainability. Birds play a critical role in seed dispersal and are important pollinators. They are, therefore, responsible for the existence of much of the plant life in the world. Birds also consume insects and small pests on such a large scale that they are essential for controlling pest populations. If birds were to vanish from the ecosystem, there would be an explosion in pest populations so severe that tremendous ecological and agricultural devastation would follow. This was witnessed in China during the Great Leap Forward when sparrows were wiped out on the grounds that they ate grain. Sparrows also eat locusts. Consequently, the resulting locust upsurge became a major contributing factor to the Great Chinese Famine, which killed more than fifty million people.
While we welcome law enforcement efforts to ensure the protection of migratory birds and wildlife, we must also point out that the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) is entrusted not only with framing conservation policies but also with their execution and ensuring that the requisite environment for wildlife protection exists. An important part of this mandate is public awareness through all available means to ensure tragedies such as the one on June 3 are averted in the first place. Installing proper signboards along conservation areas is a necessary tool for informing citizens. Along several miles of Rawal Lake, there is not a single signboard indicating that it is a protected bird sanctuary or informing visitors that hunting birds is a serious crime.
One signboard atop a bustling bridge on Srinagar Highway boasts the record number of days in which the bridge was built. Such information is meant for internal records of the construction company that built the bridge. How does it benefit the general public or the environment? The public benefits from signboards that display rules and regulations regarding conduct enforced in a given geographic area. Along Rawal Lake, there is no mention that it is a bird sanctuary or conservation zone, nor that poaching is an offense punishable under relevant sections of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Act.
In the absence of such information, how does the state expect the general public to desist from hunting and on what basis does it hold violators accountable? It is the responsibility of IWMB to inform, educate and ensure that awareness regarding wildlife protection becomes common knowledge among all citizens within its jurisdiction.
The previous IWMB chairperson, who later fell into disrepute, was an urban socialite. Although she published on water issues and the environment, she had neither the experience nor a clear interest in wildlife or its management. She allegedly used IWMB resources for social events, parties and banquets. She was booked by the FIA for corruption and removed from IWMB. According to IWMB rules and regulations, the Board is required to appoint a chairperson within one hundred and eighty days from the date the position becomes vacant. That rule is followed neither in spirit nor in letter. Under these circumstances, it is not the citizenry but IWMB itself that should be named in accountability proceedings over the Rawal Lake poaching incident. It has failed to install signboards informing citizens of applicable rules and penalties for noncompliance.
—The writer is CEO at Pakistan’s People-Led Disaster Management.
