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WCC 2016 Res 052 - Activity Report

Submitted by soomron on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 09:47
General Information
Declaration of Astola Island as a Marine Protected Area
IUCN Constituent: 
Pakistan Country Office
IUCN Constituent type: 
IUCN Secretariat
Period covered: 
2018
Geographic scope: 
Indian Ocean
Country/Territory: 
Pakistan
In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...
IUCN Members: 
World Wide Fund - Pakistan ( WWF ) / Pakistan
Trust for Conservation of Coastal Resources ( TCCR ) / Pakistan
National Council for Conservation of Wildlife, Ministry of Climate Change ( NCCW ) / Pakistan
Indus Earth Trust ( IET ) / Pakistan
IUCN Commissions: 
No Commissions are/have been involved
IUCN Secretariat: 
Yes
Other non-IUCN related organisations: 
Balochistan Wildlife Department, Government of Balochistan
Implementation
Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution: 
ActionDescriptionStatus
Convene stakeholders/NetworkingFollowing the designation of Astola Island as MPA, there was a dire need felt to take steps towards its conservation and collaborative management. The management plan preparation process entail a participatory process of defining key management objectives of Astola MPA, filling gaps in knowledge on biological and social resources of the area, identifying threats posing the site, prescribing actions for conservation of key biodiversity resources, and prescribing co-management regime with differential responsibilities of various stakeholders. Since, multiple stakeholders are involved to the future management of Astola MPA, they were need to be engaged in the consultative process. In this regard, IUCN Pakistan has taken steps for establishment a ecological baseline of Astola Island MPA and as next step, IUCN organized a consultative workshop on management planning workshop on Astola MPA on 03-04 May 2018 at Karachi. All the relevant stakeholders belonging to provincial and federal government and civil society attended the workshop including the regional Protected Area experts. During the workshop, the findings of socio-ecological baseline were shared and the future course of action for preparation of management plan of Astola MPA was discussed. Along with the stakeholders’ sensitization and management planning of Astola Island MPA, identification and outline development of National Coastal/Marine Initiative was also carried out.Completed
Scientific/technical activitiesTo support the custodian department for the management planning of Astola Island MPA, IUCN-Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Programme Pakistan conducted an Ecological Baseline and Resource Use Survey (EBRU Survey) of Astola MPA in Dec, 2017 and Feb, 2018 financially assisted by Waitt Foundation under The Rapid Ocean Conservation Grants Programme and co-financed by MFF Pakistan. In order to undertake this comprehensive survey, a number of government agencies and academic institutes along with a team of 26 experts with diverse backgrounds and expertise participated. The survey team adopted a range of robust methods for assessing abundance of species and different habitat conditions. The survey sought to establish strong collaborative links between marine scientists of different universities, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relevant federal and provincial departments so that compiled expert knowledge and collective wisdom could be used for the future management of MPA. The results of this study provide the basic reference material from which a future management plan would be developed, and upon which government policies pertaining to marine resource-use activities in and around the MPA might reasonably be based. The survey was designed to collect primary and secondary information on important biodiversity resources and resource use in Astola Island MPA. The survey was scoped to generate first hand,updated information on terrestrial and aquatic resources of coastal and offshore waters of Astola Island including flora phytoplankton, microalgae,seaweeds, herbs, shrubs and small trees and fauna (reptiles, birds, coral reefs, fish, cetaceans and benthic organisms) and the physical parameters. It also covered identification and mapping of sites of critical ecological importance. The resource use survey covered social aspects pertaining to extractive uses, existing fishing practices and livelihood dependencies associated with the island’s resources.Completed
Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken: 
A motion (# 055) submitted by the Pakistan National Committee was adopted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, 2016, calling for declaration of Astola Island as a MPA in Pakistan. To support the process of establishment of Astola Island as an MPA, IUCN-MFF Pakistan took several steps in collaboration with its NCB members. These steps included initial feasibility assessments, field visits to undertake situational analysis, and a series of consultative stakeholder meetings. Subsequently, the Astola island was declared the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Pakistan on June 15, 2017. For the sustainable management of Astola Island MPA, the need for establishment of an ecological baseline and resource use Survey (EBRU survey) was realized and conducted with co-financial support of Waitt Foundation and MFF Pakistan. The survey generated first hand information on terrestrial and aquatic resources of coastal and offshore waters of Astola Island. Later on, a consultative workshop on “management planning on Astola MPA, and identification and outline development of National coastal/marine initiative” organized in May 2018 with key stakeholders including regional Protected Area
What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?: 
1. Resource constraints, 2. Consecutive transfers of key positions in relevant Government agencies caused repeated efforts for advocacy, confidence building, and knowledge sharing.
Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution: 
Future ActionDescription
Scientific/technical activitiesSupport Balochistan Wildlife Department and Ministry of Climate Change in the development of "Management Plan of Astola Island MPA"
Additional Information
Upload document: 
PDF icon Astola Ecological Baseline Report 2018.pdf
External link(s): 
Designation of Astola Island as first ever Marine Protected Area in Pakistan