ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Maritime Affairs launched the campaign to comprehensively address the marine pollution threatening to the blue economy, harming biodiversity, fisheries, and tourism, while contributing to climate change, public health risks, and economic losses.
Talking to APP, Ministry of Maritime Affairs’ official told on Wednesday that Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has already established two committees to identify issues and submit a report with suggestions to promote cleaner coastlines, a healthier marine ecosystem, and a stronger system for pollution control.
He said that the committees will focus on the Sewage Treatment Plant-III (SPT-III) project and the Combined Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), a treating wastewater from various industrial sources and will submit report to the Marine Pollution Control Board within 20 days.
He stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive public awareness campaign, calling for the active involvement of all stakeholders to foster community engagement in efforts to combat marine pollution. “Land-based marine pollution particularly the discharge of untreated sewage and solid waste into coastal waters can be reduced by up to 90 percent through targeted and effective measures,” he added.
He elaborated on the wide-ranging consequences of marine pollution, noting that it undermines fisheries and tourism, inflicts economic losses, poses public health risks through contaminated seafood, exacerbates climate change, and endangers the livelihoods of fishermen and coastal communities.
To combat solid waste pollution, the official said several mitigation measures have been taken by the ministry such as installing nets on stormwater drains (nullahs), fencing rivers, and deploying systems to remove floating trash from the harbor.
