Karachi (PPI) - Unavailability of fresh water in Indus Kotir downstream is badly affecting the mangroves growth and recent satellite images of Indus Delta show that the its mangrove cover is less than the past estimates, Former Divisional Forest Officer, Coastal Forest Division, Sindh Forest Department, Hyder Raza Khan said this while talking to PPI on Tuesday. He said initially the data collected by SUPARCO through Satellite Imageries in 1980 showed that there had been 260000 hectares of mangrove cover on Indus Delta, and later in 1990s the SUPARCO data showed that Indus Delta had mangrove cover of 160000 hectares. Both these figures were wrong as these Satellite Imageries were most probably mistaken low tide and algae and grasses cover as mangroves, he said. He said the Satellite Imageries taken recently are more reliable in which 85 to 100 thousand hectares of mangroves cover has been shown on Indus Delta. He said that the WWF says that the mangroves have been cut off at large and I clarify them that such a large amount of mangroves could not be cut off but in reality this confusion arose due to wrong satellite data. "I accept that the growth pattern has been affected and biodiversity has been lost," he said. Four species of Mangroves have been totally disappeared from the Indus Delta due to the low discharge of water to downstream Kotri. He said that presently there are four species left namely Avicenna Marina, Ceriops Tagal, Agi Ciras Corniculatum and Rhizophora Mucronata. About 85 % area of Indus Delta is covered with Avicenna Marina specie of mangroves and 1 to 2 % is covered with Ceriops Tagal and Agi Ciras Corniculatum mangroves species, he said. The unavailability of fresh water has not only affected the species of mangroves but it has also affected their growth, he said. He added that four species have already been disappeared while the remaining mangroves have converted into bush form from the tree form as their growth has been badly affected, he added. He said that not only the greenery of the mangroves has been affected but their earth-holding capacity has also been reduced. He said that Rhizophora Mucronata specie has been reintroduced in 1990 by the Sindh Forest Department as it was at danger, adding now 10 to 15 % area of Indus is covered with this reintroduced specie. He said that Sindh Forest Department has the target to completely rehabilitate 75 thousand hectares of the existing mangrove cover on Indus Delta by 2025. The existing cover of Mangroves on Indus Delta is not fully stocked forest and it has has dense, medium and sparse growth, he said. During the last 15 years the department has rehabilitated 35 thousand hectares of Mangroves, he added. "We don't have the seed source of four species of our lost mangroves and that is why we can't reintroduce them," he said. The ecosystem has been badly affected due to the disappearance of these four species of Mangroves, he added. It requires advocacy at higher level to support the growth of mangroves, he said. He added that since Pakistan is an agrarian country, so the focus of high ups is on boosting production of agriculture, he added. We have not been able to convince people at high level that water is required to save the biodiversity in Indus Delta, he said. The Mangroves require a continuous supply of fresh water round 365 days of the year and the floodwater which goes into the sea during flood season only is not sufficient for Mangroves growth round the year, he said. He said that 85 % of the fish catch is from Sindh due to the Mangroves forests and remaining 15 % fish catch is from Balochistan. The dams constructed at upcountry have threatened the Mangroves as the water discharge at downstream Kotri has been reduced drastically due to the barrages at up country, he said. He said due to these dams the fresh water and silt load coming from upstream has been reduced which has adversely affected the biodiversity of Mangroves and Indus Delta. The 1991 water Accord was not being followed and that is why we are facing this problem of disappearance of Mangroves, he said. The total area of Indus Delta is 600 thousand hectares out of which 280 thousand hectares is under the control of Sindh Forest Department, 264 thousand hectares is under the control of Board of Revenue and 64 thousand hectare is under Port Qasim Authority, he said. The area under Sindh Forest Department and Port Qasim Authority have the status of protected area under Forest Act 1972 but the area under Board of Revenue is wasteland. Indus Delta is on the Eastern Coast. Besides Indus Delta there are also other patches of Mangroves in other areas of Sindh, which consist of 2 to 3 thousand hectares, he said. Those patches are under multiple and confused administrative control of Pakistan Navy, Karachi Port Trust and Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi, he added. He said that the above-mentioned patches of Mangroves are being faced with land grabbing problem. He added that first these Mangroves trees are cut off by the authorities and then after land filling process and the land is being sold in shape of plots for residential and other purposes. The spread of Mangroves is almost negligible at the area under the control of Board of Revenue as it had no legal cover that this land should only be used for foresting purpose, he said. Khan said that area of Mangroves on lands of Sindh Forest Department and Port Qasim were declared as Protected Forest in 1958. In 1972 Sindh Department transferred some area to Port Qasim, he added. He said without ensuring better supply of fresh water in Kotri downstream area, the Indus Delta could not be effectively saved, which means irreparable loss of ecology and socio-economy of the whole area.