Subject: RE: On the coastal border areas of India and Pakistan Dear Gaurav Thank you for your most interesting email. It would be very useful to have more information about this particular Journal and where one could get a copy of the printed output. Having made a few trips to survey and study the distribution of waterbirds on the Kachchh coast of Gujarat over several years, I can only say that this is truly a unique and magnificent wetland area of international importance. At the moment, we know a little of the real value of the outer Indus Delta area (to include an area from about Karachi in Pakistan eastwards to Jakhau (in Kachchh, Gujarat), as every survey has brought new information to further justify the importance of this region. The numerous mangrove islands and creeks sand dunes and inter-tidal mudflats are of tremendous value for all forms of life. Several thousands of waterbirds use the area; it is a breeding area for resident species of tree and ground nesting birds, a staging area for migratory birds (from as far north as the Taymyr peninsula in arctic Russia) on their way south along the west coast of India (and perhaps even as far south as Sri Lanka and the Maldives) and a non-breeding ground for several other species. It is a major breeding and feeding ground for marine turtles. The only reported international recovery of a marine turtle tagged in Karachi was from the Gulf of Kachchh, in India. This indicates that these species may depend on movements within the coastal waters of both countries for their life cycle. There are records of several species of small and large marine mammals, including whales from the area. Additionally, the delta and the adjoining mangrove forests are a very important nursery ground for fish, prawns and crabs. As a result, the area supports a considerable inshore and offshore coastal fishery. Given the abundance of natural resources, it is not surprising that anthropogenic pressures in this area (site and off-site pressures) on both sides of the international border continue to increase. The coastal area under discussion is continguous with the Great Rann of Kachchh and forms the border between both countries. This immense and unique salt flat with its small islands of vegetation is home for many other species of animals (including the Wild Ass or Onager) and plants. In the past, it has hosted the largest breeding site of Greater Flamingo and Lesser Flamingo in Asia (the famed Flamingo City). It still serves as a breeding ground for flamingo and other ground nesting species of waterbirds. It is also a staging and non-breeding area for several thousands of waterbirds (including pelicans, cranes, ducks, geese, shorebirds, gulls and terns), birds of prey, passerines and others. Therefore all efforts to conserve the area should be pursued. International co-operation to promote conservation of this area is one avenue, with strong and lasting political commitment from the people of both nations. The Ramsar Convention is certainly one very good way of promoting cross-boundary co-operation of shared wetlands and their resources. It is especially relevant in this case as both countries are signatories and active players. Declaration of adjoining national protected areas within the territories of both countries and strict enforcement within national boundaries is another approach. It is an approach that each country can initiate as a first step. I sincere hope that some readers of the Forum can work together to initiate efforts on both sides of the border to promote the conservation of this internationally important area. With best wishes, Taej Mundkur Coordinator, Waterbird Conservation Programme Wetlands International - Asia Pacific Institute of Post Graduate Studies University Malaya Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel: +60-3-7572176 Fax: +60-3-7571225 Email: taej@wiap.nasionet.net Home page: http://ngo.asiapac.net/wetlandsgaporePresentation.ppt -----Original Message----- From: grajen@nmia.com [SMTP:grajen@nmia.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 1999 11:24 PM To: The Ramsar Forum Subject: On the coastal border areas of India and Pakistan Dear Forum Members: A very happy and joyous year to all! I would like to share the following article that will appear in the next issue of Disarmament Forum, the quarterly journal of UNIDIR, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1999. I look forward to your comments. Gaurav Rajen _________________________________ A Proposal to Declare the Sir Creek Trans-Border Area Between India and Pakistan a Part of a Protected Wetland To be published in Disarmament Forum Vol. 1, No. 1, 1999 In early 1971, with the storm clouds of war ready to break later in the year in a horrendous killing deluge, India and Pakistan were yet able to find common ground at Ramsar in Iran and become Contracting Parties of the International Convention on Wetlands. Today, faced with a critical need to engage in confidence building measures that can reduce nuclear tensions, the protection of wetlands could form the basis for initiating improvements in Indian and Pakistani relations. The resumption of talks between India and Pakistan "for the peaceful settlement of outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir" was announced on September 23, 1998, in a joint statement by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan. The talks will begin with the issues of Jammu and Kashmir and peace and security, and also address six other areas identified from more than a decade ago. One of these issues is defining the international boundary along Sir Creek, a sixty-mile long estuary in the salty marshlands of the Rann of Kutch between the states of Gujarat in India and Sind in Pakistan. In 1965, armed clashes resulted from Pakistan's claim that half of the Rann of Kutch along the 24th parallel was Pakistan's territory and India's claim that the boundary ran roughly along the northern edge of the Rann. The matter was referred to arbitration and the Indo-Pakistan Western Boundary Case Tribunal's Award on February 19, 1968, upheld most of India's claim to the entire Rann, conceding very small sections to Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Tribunal left the Sir Creek part of the boundary out of consideration as it was deemed to be already agreed on. At issue now is whether the boundary lies in the middle of Sir Creek as India believes, or on its east bank, as Pakistan insists. Despite the differences regarding the Sir Creek issue, it is one that could relatively easily be resolved between India and Pakistan, initiating a process of an incremental reduction in tensions. One approach to reaching agreement on the Sir Creek boundary involves the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands that India and Pakistan have already signed and ratified. Pakistan has declared the Chashma Barrage, Drigh Lake, Haleji Lake, Kinjhar Lake, Tanda Dam, Taunsa Barrage, Thanedar Wala and the Uchhali Complex of lakes as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. These total over 60,000 hectares. India has declared the Chilka Lake, Harike Lake, Keoladeo National Park, Loktak Lake, Sambhar lake, and Wular Lake as Ramsar sites, totaling over 190,000 hectares. One of the criteria for declaring an area as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance is the following - "a particularly good representative example of a wetland which plays a substantial hydrological, biological or ecological role in the natural functioning of a major river basin or coastal system, especially where it is located in a trans-border position". Portions of the Rann of Kutch including the Sir Creek area are clearly worthy of designation as a Ramsar site. If both India and Pakistan declare their contiguous coastal portions of the Rann of Kutch to be Wetlands of International Importance, worthy of joint and cooperative efforts for protection, many of the contentious issues around the Sir Creek boundary dispute could be resolved. An integrated plan for the development of the marine and coastal zone in this area could be developed jointly - and this could ultimately lead to further cooperation for mutual benefit in the development of ocean resources. The exact location of the boundary along the Sir Creek would become moot. Coastal and intertidal wetlands are complex ecosystems that link land surface processes with the oceans. Coastal wetlands serve as natural filters that trap sediments and pollution present in surface run-off and intertidal movement of water, thereby regulating phytoplankton growth and fish populations in adjoining ocean regions. The roots and falling organic material of plants that grow in coastal wetlands provide nurseries and food for marine life. Protection of the Rann and a deeper understanding of its hydrological and ecological processes are crucial to the protection of the coral reefs in the Gulf of Kutch. The plume of sewage and industrial pollution traveling more than 150 km south from Karachi into the coastal areas of the Rann also needs to be studied and mitigated. Mangrove forests within the Indus delta have been largely destroyed, and there is ample scope for India and Pakistan to cooperate on regional mangrove restoration efforts. The Red Sea Marine Peace Park jointly managed by Israel and Jordan in the Gulf of Aqaba as a part of their peace treaty makes an excellent model for the joint protection and development of the coastal areas of the Rann of Kutch. India is one of the few countries in the world with an Ocean Policy. In its closing paragraph, this Ocean Policy requires "close cooperation with both developing and developed countries in a spirit of understanding of the concept that oceans are a common heritage of humankind". In 1998, the International Year of the Oceans, recognizing the linkages between land, coastal and ocean processes, India and Pakistan could solve the Sir Creek issue by protecting areas of the Rann of Kutch and adjacent seas. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Ramsar Forum is an unmoderated mailing list maintained as a service to the public by the Ramsar Convention Bureau in Gland, Switzerland. Facts or opinions posted here do not represent the views of the Convention Bureau or Contracting Parties. For help, contact the list manager (ramsar-forum-owner@hq.iucn.org). The services and facilities to support this list are provided by The Information Management Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.