Pak-China marine protection cooperation is urgent need of the hour to combat climate change, experts said. “The increasingly severe climate change has an immeasurable impact on the marine ecological environment, and thus on global fisheries,” according to Shoaib Kiani, Assistant Professor at the University of Karachi’s Institute of Marine Science. During an interview with Gwadar Pro, he stressed that the impact will be even greater on tropical maritime countries. “The temperature of the shallow seawater gradually increases, and the temperature difference between the shallow and the bottom seawater further expands, which seriously affects the upwelling of nutrients from the depths of the ocean. Fish will not be able to obtain the nutrients needed for reproduction, growth and other life processes. In addition, the ecology of those organisms at the lowest level in the food chain, such as phytoplankton, will be severely damaged, triggering a domino effect that will affect the entire marine ecosystem.” Statistic showed that about 850 million people worldwide live within 100 kilometers of tropical coastal ecosystems and derive income from industries such as fishing, aquaculture and tourism. 

Nearly 20 percent of the per capita animal protein intake of 3 billion people comes from fisheries, and 400 million people rely heavily on fish production for their food security. “There is no doubt that countries like Pakistan that rely on fisheries and lack systematic marine ecological protection measures will suffer extremely.” “Not only limit to the impact on fisheries, research shows that global upper ocean temperatures have increased over the past few decades, with sea levels rising by an average of 1.7mm per year.  And long-term ocean circulation trends, surface winds, storm systems and wave patterns have also experienced regional changes. Salinity has decreased in high and mid-latitudes, while it has increased in low latitudes. 

Increased surface temperatures have led to less oxygen in warm water, while there has been a long-term trend of ocean deoxygenation. Carbon dioxide stored in the ocean more than 50 times higher than the atmosphere, and the global ocean’s expanding storage of carbon dioxide is causing the ocean environment to become increasingly acidic, potentially accelerating the rate of sea level rise.  Floods in Pakistan caused more than USD 30 billion in direct losses, and as a result, sea levels rise is definitely not good news for us,” Prof Kiani told reporter.

Lately, Dr. Adnan Arshad, Director of the Climate Change Education Program at Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA)-Pakistan, called for increased collaboration with China to combat the crisis at the just concluded COP28 conference held from November 30 to December 13 in Dubai, UAE.“For poor and developing countries, they are badly in need of stronger and more practical measures.  Today, the industrial activities of many developed countries have caused a series of major harm to the global climate, however, the consequences are overwhelmingly borne by developing countries,” echoed Prof Kiani. “By now, Pakistan has taken a series of substantive steps. Our government has begun funding various climate research projects. There are also organizations established to respond to natural disasters, but it far from enough. Government needs to provide more sustainable funding for basic research on climate change and adaptation,” he added.

In 2017, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Astola Island, located about 39 kilometres east of Pasni, Balochistan, in the Arabian Sea, has been declared the first dedicated Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the country. Although small in size, Pakistan has taken the first successful step.“In the future, I hope that Pakistan and China can cooperate in the field of comprehensive coastal area management.  In China, many related projects have achieved great success. Our two countries can carry out frequent exchanges of information on marine ecological management, and China can also provide relevant consultation,” Prof Kiani indicated, “on the other hand, in order to maximize the sustainable development of marine ecology, fishery-related laws need to be further clarified, and illegal fishing, illegal nets and the like need to be strictly prohibited. 

Pakistan can learn from China’s work experience in this regard. Marine pollution is also an important aspect that we need to pay attention to. China and Pakistan can exchange information and learn from each other in wastewater treatment.” Both China and Pakistan enjoy long coastlines and diverse marine life species. “Therefore, the long-term sustainable cooperation strategy under the CPEC framework is of great benefit.” Prof Kiani believes the two countries should cooperate to train related ecological protection personnel, and even establish work group to hold regular exchange meetings.  “Sustained development goes hand in hand with improving our marine environment, which are going to benefit generations to come.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China