Daily Times

Freshwater shortage is a global issue. Global warming and climate change have made water availability in many parts of the world unpredictable. There is a pressing need therefore for exploring ways to use saline groundwater and identifying organisms which can be farmed in such water.

Experiments have been undertaken for quite some time to establish the utility of saline water for agriculture. However, cost-effective and practical solutions have been rare. Meanwhile, the marine environment has been found viable for farming a number of marine animals and plants all over the world. The practice is referred to as mariculture. Aquaculture supporting marine animals and plants in inland saline groundwater is relatively new.

Inland saline groundwater is now being used to grow marine fishes and shrimps etc. The production of high-value marine fish and shrimp in inland saline well water is a growing industry in several countries.

With successful fish farming and aquaculture projects underway at the reservoir, Gorano has become a prized eco-tourism site

In Pakistan, inland groundwater reserves over a large area of the country are saline. The saline land in the irrigation command area exceeds 11.1million acres. About 40,000 hectares are abandoned in the Indus Basin annually on account of secondary salinization. There is a large number of saline groundwater pockets in the canal command areas. In the Punjab, 23pc of the area suffers from poor groundwater quality, while in Sindh, 78pc of the groundwater is saline so that the fresh groundwater area is limited to a narrow strip along the River Indus. About 56pc of the irrigated land in Sindh is affected by salinity.

Today salt water pumped from 180 metres below the natural surface in Block II of the Thar Coal mining region is being used to grow fish and plants.

A spokesman for Sindh Agro Coal Mining Company has described the company’s success in cultivating bio-saline crops using underground water as a huge achievement. In the second phase, he said, ponds were being set up for fish production and breeding.

Experimental production of seven types of fish has already started. The species are Morakhhee, Rohu, Kuriro, Theli, Gulfam, African Catfish and Dhangri.

Once the results of the pilot phase have been analyzed for best practices, 100,000 fish seeds will be introduced in Gorano Pond, some 35 kilometres away from Thar Coal Block II, to enhance fish production.

The programme was started last year. Given the nearly 90 percent survival rate, the Gorano reservoir is expected to produce 200,000 kg fish a year.

This will not only lead to large scale fish production in the Thar Desert but also provide employment to the local youth.

It is for the first time that fish production has been undertaken in Thar Desert. The success of this and other such experiments and programmes will accelerate the pace of development in the area.

A brief ecological survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has reflected positively on the Gorano pond filling with groundwater. The report says the subsoil saline water wetland is attracting various birds which feed on fish.

With successful fish farming and aquaculture projects underway at the reservoir, Gorano has become a prized eco-tourism site. However, the report also notes that the water salinity level is very high and likely to increase given the high evaporation rate. The pond has been created artificially on 1,500 acres. It is situated in Islamkot taluka of Thar district some 30 kilometres from Islamkot town.

Before the land was filled with water, the authorities had counted 4,199 desert trees growing on 834 acres. Trees on the remaining 600 acres were not counted. The trees are still alive but all 4,199 have been submerged and will not survive long. Plantation of more local trees is proposed to compensate for the loss.

Some species have even started breeding on the partly submerged trees. So far wild ducks and waders are not coming to the pond. The report has suggested measures to attract these birds.

The writer is a freelancer