Staff Reporter Karachi
Commander Coast, Vice Admiral Zahid Ilyas on Friday launched Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2021 by planting a mangrove sapling at Port Bin Qasim.
Pakistan Navy has launched Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2021 in the Coastal Areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
‘Mangroves are vital to coastal ecosystem, prevention of sea intrusion and sustaining of marine life.
Being a major stakeholder of the maritime domain and realizing the importance of mangroves for marine life, Pakistan Navy has taken a major initiative to revive mangrove forests all along the coast,’ said a Pakistan Navy media release.
Realizing the importance of mangroves forests in combating pollution, countering coastal erosion and providing a number of economic and financial opportunities to coastal communities, Mangroves Plantation Campaign is part of PN environmental protection program under which Pakistan Navy has planted 07 million mangroves from Shah Bandar to Jiwani with the collaboration of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sindh and Balochistan Forest departments.
On this occasion, Chief of the Naval Staff in his message highlighted the challenges of sustainability and existence mangroves forests were facing.
He emphasized that covered area of mangroves forests has decreased significantly over the period due various factors such as reduction in fresh water supply, marine pollution, coastal erosion, mangroves cutting etc.
Therefore, requirement of new plantation as well as preservation/ protection of existing mangroves forests needs to be undertaken.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi in his message underscored the significance of PN Mangroves Plantation Campaign to achieve the goal of developing ‘Green Coastal Belt’.
