KARACHI: The WWF-Pakistan has urged the Sindh government to declare new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the province’s coast to safeguard fragile marine ecosystems and biodiversity, particularly in the ecologically important regions of Pitiani and Dabbo Creeks in the Indus Delta. The call came as part of the organization’s statement ahead of World Marine Protected Areas Day, marked globally on August 1.
Recognizing recent conservation progress, WWF-Pakistan lauded the government of Balochistan for its declaration of Miani Hor as the country’s third MPA on July 29. The site joins Astola Island and Churna Island, declared MPAs in 2017 and 2024 respectively. These efforts, WWF-Pakistan noted, mark the beginning of a new chapter for marine conservation in Pakistan, achieved through sustained collaboration between government bodies, conservation groups, wildlife experts, and coastal communities.
The establishment of MPAs is considered critical for meeting international biodiversity goals under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to which Pakistan is a signatory. The framework commits countries to protecting 30 percent of global oceans by 2030—a target known as “30 by 30.”
WWF-Pakistan’s Director General Hammad Naqi Khan emphasized that the country’s coastal and marine ecosystems are under increasing pressure from overfishing, destructive fishing gear, untreated sewage, plastic pollution, and the broader effects of climate change. He stressed the need for both federal and Sindh governments to take decisive steps to declare additional MPAs and protect vulnerable marine areas.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025