Cumulative impact assessment for Sindh barrages

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Indus Basin water system. Source: The World Bank (2010).

Figure 2. Lower Indus River system, barrages, time of river dolphins extant and extirpated. Source: Braulik et al. (2014).

Table 1. Comparison of direct counts of dolphin recorded in 2001 and 2006.

Subpopulation	2001	2006	2011^c
Jinnah to Chashma	2	1	–
Chashma to Taunsa	84	82	–
Taunsa to Ghazi Ghat	45	44	–
Guddu to Sukkur	775^a	1,275	918
Sukkur to Kotri	18	4^b	29
Total	924	1,406	947

^a In 2001, 602 dolphins were counted, and after extrapolation of a conservative mean encounter rate (3.6/km) to an unsurveyed 33.3 km segment, 725 were estimated (Braulik 2006). As the unsurveyed segment was in a very high density area, application of the encounter rate from adjacent channels (5.0/km) is more realistic and we therefore applied this to generate a revised estimate of 775 animals in 2001 in this subpopulation.

^b The whole Sukkur to Kotri subpopulation was not surveyed in 2006, so figures cannot be directly compared between years.

^c Different survey method was used and only in river sections from Guddu to Kotri barrages.

Figure 3. Right side fish ladder at Guddu Barrage (Gate 7).

Figure 4. Left side fish ladder at Guddu Barrage (Gate 61).

Table 2. Cumulative impact analysis of barrages on components of the ecosystem.

Items	Jinnah	Chasma	Taunsa	Guddu	Sukkur	Kotri	D/S Kotri	Addressed by
Location	Punjab	Punjab	Punjab	Sindh	Sindh	Sindh	-	-
Sedimentation	C-Medium	C-Medium	C-Low	C-Low	C-Low	C-Low	C-Low	SOP
Dolphin habitat fragmentation	L-Low	L-Low	C-Medium	C-High	C-High	L-Low	C-High	Project
Fish migration	L-Low	L-Low	L-Medium	C-Medium	C-High	C-Medium	C-High	Project
Environmental flow	L-Low	C-Medium	C-Medium	C-Medium	C-High	C-High	C-High	WAA
Remedy	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	WAA
Irrigation	L-High	L-Low	L-High	L-High	L-High	L-High	C-High	Project
Loss of agricultural land	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Medium	C-High	OFWMP
Coastal stability	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	C-Medium	WAA
Water logging and salinity	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	L-Low	C-High	OFWMP

Notes: L: Localized, C: Cumulative, Intensity: low, medium, high, SOP: Standard Operating Practice.

Figure 5. Monthly discharge at downstream Kotri and hilsa migration.

Table 3. Annual catch of Hilsa in Pakistan.

Years	Catch (tons)	Years	Catch (tons)	Years	Catch (tons)
1953	10,000	1973	11,800	1993	796
1954	11,000	1974	9,098	1994	658
1955	12,000	1975	9,474	1995	476
1956	13,000	1976	9,545	1996	562
1957	6,000	1977	9,129	1997	597
1958	8,000	1978	4,813	1998	611
1959	8,000	1979	9,036	1999	502
1960	8,800	1980	4,427	2000	190
1961	7,800	1981	3,923	2001	170
1962	2,700	1982	6,032	2002	174
1963	3,800	1983	1,592	2003	156
1964	4,800	1984	1,527	2004	149
1965	5,500	1985	2,078	2005	189
1966	7,500	1986	1,975	2006	195
1967	6,500	1987	1,843	2007	215
1968	8,200	1988	1,528	2008	255
1969	9,900	1989	875	2009	188
1970	12,700	1990	935	2010	195
1971	11,100	1991	861	2011	254
1972	10,800	1992	823	2012	266
Super floods, discharge in cumec:				2013	269
	25,485–28,317		28,317–31,149		31,149–33,980

Source: FAO Fishstat J Software, Capture Production 1950–2013 Data-set (release date: March 2015).

Figure 6. Guddu Barrage. Source: Google Earth, NASA, DigitalGlobe.

Figure 7. Sukkur Barrage. Source: Google Earth, NASA, DigitalGlobe.

Figure 8. Kotri Barrage. Source: Google Earth, NASA, DigitalGlobe.

Table 4. Irrigation supplies and command area of barrages.

Off-taking source (barrage)	Discharge (cumec)	Command area (ha)
Guddu	1,190	1,382,537
Sukkur	1,346	3,054,102
Kotri	1,172	1,136,356
Total	3,708	5,572,995

The World Bank. 2010. Project Appraisal document of Punjab Barrages Improvement Phase-II Project. Report no. 51016-PK. Sustainable Development Department, Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region.

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Braulik GT, Arshad M, Noureen U, Northridge SP. 2014. Habitat fragmentation and species extirpation in freshwater ecosystems; causes of range decline of the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor). PLoS One. 9:e101657. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101657.

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FAO Fishstat J Software, Capture Production 1950–2013 Dataset. Release date: March 2015.

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