Wildlife of Pakistan - Otter Specialist Group

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Volume 1: Issue 1: January - March, 2012Vegetables being harvested through Pitcher Irrigation © Haji Mola Bux, IFAP, WWF-Pof water used in the pitcher. Thuseven saline water can be used forirrigation through this technique.This farmer-friendly & most viablearid zone irrigation system is provedto be water efficient up to 90%(by A.A.Siyal, Sindh AgricultureUniversity) over flood & othersurface irrigation methods. Besidesthat the benefits include, increasedproductivity (2-3 times higher) sincethe plant’s energies are divertedfrom developing root mass neededfor acquiring water, to increasingoverall plant yield, and decreasedsoil erosion & crusting, reductionin weeds, and higher efficiency& reduced rate in application ofpesticides/insecticides & solublefertilizers through the same pitchersas need to be applied only ondefined/cultivated areas.The prospects of this local madeirrigation technique are practicallyhigh in the arid/semi arid regions(e.gThar&Cholistan) of the countrywhere we have limited or no cultivationdue to water scarcity & salinity.Pumped out saline groundwatercan be used to grow creepingcrop such as gourd, pumpkin, andmelon, sponge vegetable “luffa”,coliquentida (requires 2,000-2500pitchers per hectare) and uprightcrops, or crops producing a canopyaround the pot (requires up to 4000pitchers per hectare). A farmer caneasily cultivate about 0.5 hectare(on hand pump or pond) & 1 hectare(on motorpump) through the systemon hand-pump or pond. Six to eightvegetable plants could be grownaround one pot and may be refilledevery few days instead of dailyattention. To prolong the life of thepitcher, the mouth of the pot shouldbe kept closed and the water usedshould be clean.WWF-P Indus for All Programmeteam at Chotiari Wetlands Complexconceived all the existing issuesand in response, established aNature Resource based Enterprisesupported with Pitcher IrrigationTechnique for the herdsmen ofChotiari rangelands, with the titleas “Backyard Gardening throughPitcher Irrigation System”. Theenterprise is intended to establish,financially assist and strengthen aparticipatory community vegetableproduct management enterprise on1 hectares, aimed at sustainablymanage indigenous core livelihoodsource for poverty reduction, foodself-sufficiency and better nutritionof the people of three villages.The selected villages namelyMajeedMangrio, MangioJunejo andRanoJunejo (with 400 population)are located at northern edgesof Chotiari reservoir along withthe widely spread sand dunes ofAchroThar (white desert) and thedwellers are totally dependant onlivestock. The ultimate objectiveof the intervention is to provideinhabitants an alternative to reducetheir dependency on rangelandsthat consequently will support toconserve biodiversity richness of theresource which is being degradeddue to overgrazing, increasedhuman settlements, & decreasedrainfall.After formation, orientationthrough field trips & training of theentrepreneurship comprised ofcommunity member form targetedvillages, an MoU addressingenterprise operations mechanism,WWF role and communitycontributions towards enterprisedevelopment & the conservation ofnatural resources of area rangelandsis signed. The community isprovided with only 1200 pitchers,a hand pump per 400 pitchers &vegetable seed at site, and the landpreparation, pitchers installation,fertilizer (livestock manure) andcrop management & marketing is atcommunity part.The first six month crop yielded anaverage of 10 kilograms (creepingcrop vegetables) per pitcher with anapprox net profit of Rs. 5 per kilogram.With the compiled crop harvest datafrom three villages, a total amount ofRs. 60,000 net profit is recorded thathighly advocates the introductionof Pitcher Irrigation System in arid&semi arid regions at large scalein such a scenario of severe waterscarcity and desertification issuesthat our country is experiencing.WILDLIFE OF PAKISTAN27
Volume 1: Issue 1: January - March, 2012Waseem Ahmad KhanIslamabadEmail: khanwa@hotmail.comMUD VOLCANOES OF PAKISTANWILDLIFE OF PAKISTAN28Nature has blessed Pakistan witha number of geographical wondersand mud volcanoes being one ofthem. Mud Volcanoes also knownas Sedimentary Volcanoes or Gas-Oil Volcanoes are not very famousand not as devastating in actionas their counterpart MagmaticVolcanoesare. They have existedon the face of this planetsincevery beginning but their actualdiscoveries and studies date backonly a few centuries.They are one of the earth’s mostinteresting natural phenomena.They may erupt abruptly andpowerfully vomiting tons of muddybrackish water, which is chemically amixture of water, mud, gases (CH4,C2H6, and SO2),a few elements,some traces of hydrocarbons, oiland some heat energy. The mudvolcanoes therefore have a directlink to gas and oil fields and areexcellent indicators to the presenceof these natural resources.More than 700 mud volcanoes havebeen reported around the world sofar and according to Owais Mughal(2007), the managing editor of ALLTHINGS PAKISTAN - a websitehighlighting Pakistan’s beauty, thereare 18 mud volcanoes in Pakistanand all being located in Balochistan.The earliest account of the presenceof mud volcanoes in Balochistandates back to 1840. The firstsurviving account of their existenceis by Major Frederick John Goldsmithwho wrote a diary of his travels fromKarachi to Gawadar in 1862 wherehe tells about thebubbling springsnear RasKoocheri and the mudvolcanoes near Ormara. There aretwo known groups of mud volcanoesin Balochistanviz.,Chandargupand JablulGhurab. According toOwais Mughal, seven out of 18 mudvolcanoes are located near Sapatpost in Hingol National Park (HNP)and the remaining 11 are locatedbetween Kutch and Gawadar.New Records of Mud Volcanoesin PakistanWhile conducting wildlifesurveysinBabbroKaur and LaksarPlains in the northern HNP duringFebruary 2007 we (a team offive members; the author (teamleader), two wildlife watchers fromBalochistan Forest and WildlifeDepartment and two porters) heardrather strange stories from localresidents about occasional blastsfollowed by fire and smoke in a mudmountain known as KundigoKurt.The last such blast was heardby locals about six months ago.This mountain is not very far fromBabbroKaur and Laksar Plains.Visualizing that these could beactive mud volcanoes, we decidedto investigate the stories.Access to the AreaVisiting the Kundigo KurtMountainisnot an easy task as itfalls in a mountain range where onlythe professional hikers can venture.There are two access routes to theKundigo Kurt Mountain and both arevery difficult; One from Uthal (Tehsilof Lasbela District) - Jhau on RCDHighway leading toKhuzdar / Quetta,branching off atDhalliHinj villagefollowing a dirt track to KukreeBhent(a hamlet) along the AraKaur (AraRiver) in HNP;the other route is fromTraanch valley which is even moredifficult especially its part knownas Dozakh (Hell). KukreeBhent isaccessible riding a four wheel drivejeep only as there are many smallmounds, stony beds, streams andplains. It takes about two and a halfhours to reach KukreeBhent fromActive Mud Volcano in Hingol National Park © Waseem Ahmad Khan, PWF
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