| Author | Memon, Junaid Alam |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.RD-11-03 |
| Subject(s) | Mangrove plants--Pakistan--Indus River Delta
|
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Regional and Rural Development Planning, School of Environment, Resources and Development
|
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | This study was carried out primarily to analyze the status of mangroves and the changing
local community dependence on these resources under the jurisdictions of Port Qasim
Authority (PQA), Sindh Forest Department (SFD) and Board of Revenue (BoR). The
various concerns on mangroves are addressed through an interdisciplinary research design
of the study that combined the policy and institutional analysis for mangrove management,
time series analysis of local dependence on mangroves and allied resources, and analysis of
the temporal variation in the area and density of mangroves. The primary information was
collected through the institutional survey, in-depth interviews, questionnaire survey of 251
randomly selected households, group discussions, satellite imageries, and ground
verification survey. Supplementary secondary information was obtained through relevant
government reports and other publications.
Findings from the policy and institutional analyses revealed that the national policies
related to mangroves management are still vague and weak as reflected in the lack of a
clear policy emphasizing on sustainable conservation of mangroves through appropriate
institutional arrangements. As a result, ownership of mangroves is being placed under the
jurisdictions of three agencies: SFD, PQA and BoR, which have different mandates and
main concerns. While the latter two agencies have no mandate for the management of
mangroves, the former agency has been pursuing management activities following the
traditional top-down approach. Mostly, the so-called people's participation is confined to
the local people's recruitment as wage laborers in carrying out mangrove plantation
activities. The analysis of local dependence on mangroves found a gradually decreasing
reliance on mangroves for wood-fuel and fodder that was attributed to the supply of tapped
natural gas in PQA area significant occupational change of the local communities caused
primarily by the diversion of freshwater flows of the Indus River for inigation. These
shifts have much alleviated the pressure on forestry component of the ecosystem. Contrary
to the previous rep01ts that the mangroves in the Indus Delta are undergoing severe
degradation, this study found appreciation in the status of mangrove forests in the study
area as a whole over the last two decades. Interestingly however, mangrove forests had
degraded in the area controlled by SFD while their conditions had improved in the areas
under the jurisdictions of PQA and BoR. The causes of such variation are discussed in this
study in detail. The analysis of local perception revealed that even with decreasing direct
utilization of its forest component, mangroves are perceived by the communities as highly
impo1tant for marine fisheries which is their current economic mainstay. Nevertheless,
communities are deliberately excluded from the management of mangroves although many
of them agreed on the need to sustainably manage these resources and are willing to
participate in the mangrove management if they would be given a chance.
The study concluded that the status of mangroves under the jurisdictions of PQA and BoR
had improved despite serious concern of both agencies. This could be considered a good
scenario as of the moment but may not continue in the future. Plans for the establishment
of mega cities, infrastructures such as ports and aquaculture development on one hand, and
lack of proper institutional framework including the deliberate exclusion of local
communities on the other hand, could lead to severe degradation of mangroves in the near
future. In view of these findings, recommendations have been made on the appropriate
institutional arrangements for sustainable conservation of mangroves in the Indus Delta. |
| Year | 2011 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Thapa, Gopal B. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Soparth Pongquan ;Tripathi, Nitin K. ;Marcussen, Henrik Secher |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan -
AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2011 |