KARACHI: Migratory birds have flocked to the wetlands of Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh in greater numbers this year, and officials and observers link the increase to coronavirus lockdown measures that have kept hunters and bird catchers away.
Pakistan, which has recorded over 185,000 cases and 3,696 deaths related to the virus, lifted a month-long country-wide lockdown last month.
A survey conducted this year observed 741,042 migratory birds in Sindh province — a big jump from the 248,105 birds counted in 2019, said Sindh Wildlife Department’s provincial conservator, Javed Ahmed Mahar.
Each year, approximately 40 percent of Sindh’s wetlands are surveyed to gain insight into the migratory patterns and numbers of birds.
Migratory birds, among them pelicans, mallards, cranes and waders, stop in Pakistan on their way to and from Siberia.
Veteran Pakistani wildlife photographer Ahmer Ali Rizvi said coronavirus measures had helped the birds to settle in.
“The birds have stayed longer this year, maybe due to meagre disturbances by humans due to the lockdown everywhere,” he said.
Mahar said that Sindh authorities had not recorded any wildlife-related crimes such as trapping, hunting or illegal trading in the province since the lockdown was imposed.
Hunting has been a problem in the area, threatening several rare species, including the houbara bustard.
“The illegal trade in the domestic markets is no more,” he said.
There are more than 33 wildlife sanctuaries and one national park in Sindh, which is home to more than 300 bird species.
Migratory birds flock to Pakistan as lockdown keeps poachers at bay
https://arab.news/vk5eu
Migratory birds flock to Pakistan as lockdown keeps poachers at bay
- Migratory birds like pelicans, mallards, cranes and waders stop in Pakistan on their way to and from Siberia.
- A survey this year observed 741,042 migratory birds in Sindh — a big jump from 248,105 last year
Pakistan’s flood-hit Sindh farmers’ group plans climate lawsuit against German firms
- Claim seeks $1.08 million in damages linked to devastating 2022 floods
- Case targets energy, cement companies cited as major historical emitters
ISLAMABAD: A group of 43 farmers from Pakistan’s flood-ravaged Sindh province has decided to file a climate justice lawsuit against two German companies, accusing them of contributing to the global greenhouse gas emissions they say worsened the catastrophic floods of 2022, a rights activist and a claimant said on Friday.
The planned legal action targets energy company RWE and cement manufacturer Heidelberg Materials, following a legal notice issued in late October that gave the firms until December to reach a settlement over an estimated $1.08 million in damages. Environmental campaigners describe both companies as major historical contributors to global emissions.
Heidelberg Materials confirmed last month that it had received the legal notice and was reviewing the claim. RWE has not responded.
The case follows the devastating monsoon floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people, displaced around 33 million and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion across Pakistan. Sindh was the hardest-hit province, with districts such as Dadu, Larkana and Jacobabad submerged for months.
The legal move comes as communities in climate-vulnerable countries increasingly seek accountability from multinational corporations for climate-related losses, amid growing scientific evidence linking extreme weather events to global warming driven largely by industrialized economies.
“The farmers in Sindh, affected by environmental devastation, have now decided to pursue legal action against two German companies for climate justice, which is a historic decision,” Nasir Mansoor, general secretary of Pakistan’s National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), told Arab News.
Mansoor said climate change should be treated as a labor and livelihoods issue, arguing that repeated environmental shocks were eroding rural employment, food security and social stability in one of Pakistan’s poorest regions.
Abdul Khaliq Leghari, a landowner from Khairpur Nathan Shah and one of the 43 claimants, said the floods permanently damaged his farmland. He lost 40 acres of rice and wheat crops, and his yields have since fallen by half.
“We not only suffered large-scale losses to crops and livestock during the floods, but we are still suffering these losses even now. This is not our fault; rather, it is the fault of companies like the German ones,” Leghari told Arab News.
“Clouds rain all over the world, but here the clouds burst. What is our fault in this? Those who have brought the climate to this point are becoming richer and richer, while we are becoming poorer and poorer,” he said, adding that the farmers were seeking not only compensation but action by major polluters to prevent further environmental damage.
At a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, farmers and activists said Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, was paying a disproportionate price for industrial pollution generated elsewhere.
Mansoor said environmental degradation within Pakistan was accelerating, citing the rapid melting of 14,000 glaciers across three major mountain ranges and the loss of around 90 percent of the historic Indus Delta.
“The industrial model of capitalist development had brought the planet to the brink of destruction,” Mansoor said, adding that current generations had a narrowing window to prevent irreversible damage.
The litigation is being supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and the HANDS Welfare Foundation. Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed of HANDS told reporters that the 2022 floods were driven by global warming rather than being a purely natural disaster.
Lawyers involved in the case say it aims to link climate science with human rights law. While RWE and Heidelberg Materials have been identified in “carbon majors” research as significant historical emitters, neither company has accepted liability for the damages claimed in Sindh.
Miriam Saage-Maab, a German constitutional lawyer and a representative of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), said the two firms were selected because they are among Germany’s major historical carbon dioxide emitters and are emblematic of the country’s fossil fuel-based economic model that has contributed to the climate crisis.
She said German civil law recognizes the principle of “joint and several liability,” under which it is legally permissible to hold one or more entities accountable for harm caused collectively by many contributors.
“If there are several people or several entities responsible for a harm, it is legitimate to only bring to court one or two of them, representing that the whole group of those have contributed to a harm,” Saage-Maab told Arab News.
She added that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming regardless of where they are produced, intensifying extreme weather events worldwide.
“The CO2 emissions emitted in Germany, Europe or elsewhere have contributed to a warming climate, and this warming climate enabled the 2022 floods,” she said, describing this link as the core causal argument behind the lawsuit.
