KARACHI: Mangroves would be planted on 500-hectare of land surrounding Port Qasim area under the project titled ‘Mangroves Ecosystem Restoration’ funded by Engro Elengy Terminal Limited and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan. In this connection, an exposure visit was organised for the students of Karachi University (KU) Department of Geography led by Prof Dr Syed Jamil Kazmi and other faculty members where around 60 students visited Ashan Island. The officials from Engro Elengy Terminal Limited along with senior officials of IFFCO Pakistan Private Limited and Dalda Foods Private Limited joined the students group and IUCN officials at the site. The students and the participants also planted mangrove plants at the site. The students were briefed by IUCN expert of Ecosystem Tahir Qureshi about the mangroves ecosystem. He said that up to the year 2000, the mangroves have been reported as a waste land in the records of the Sindh Board of, “but over the period we have realised that this ecosystem has a lot of potential as the breeding site for fish, shrimps, crabs and other marine species”. He stressed the need to raise awareness among people regarding mangroves plantation. He said mangroves serve as a wall during flood conditions. On this occasion, Geography Department Chairman Prof Dr Syed Jamil Kazmi said that purpose of the exposure visit was to impart practical knowledge among the students as how the mangroves ecosystem thrives. He said that it is a major source of oxygen for the people as mangroves produce a great amount of oxygen “thus they are playing an important parts in our lives”. He also pointed out that grazing of camels in the mangroves and cutting of wood for fuel are the major threats to this unique ecosystem. Earlier, Fakhir Mohammad, training head of Engro Elengy Terminal (Pvt) Limited welcomed the students group and other officials to the site. He encouraged the students to come forward for the conservation of mangroves. He said that this exposure visit is organised for the students to have hands on experience of the mangroves ecosystem so that they can come up with better solutions for the conservation of the mangroves. He said that mangroves help in reducing the impact of the winds in the water channels thus make them safe for shipping vessels and fishing boats. Dr Babar Hussain, sea intrusion expert, briefed the students about the location. He said that the major dominating mangroves species in the Indus Delta are Rhizophora and Avicennia, whereas four species of mangroves are found in the coastal areas of Pakistan.