Stop Oil/Gas Development in Kirthar National Park / Pakistan
Global Response, GR Action #6/00
November 29, 2000 15:48:16 -0800
(Statement in response to Shell-Premier claims that they will use "clean" extraction technologies in Kirthar National Park):
"We don't know what technologies they are going to use. They could use magic wands for all we care, but the goal remains illegal and morally unacceptable." -- Aly Ercelawn, Citizens Committee on Kirthar
Kirthar National Park is Pakistan's first and largest of five national parks. Located 180 kms northeast of Karachi in Sindh province, Kirthar is the center of a complex of protected areas of great scenic beauty and ecological importance. It includes archaeological sites dating back to 3500 BC. The park is also home to 20,000 tribal people who depend on its resources for their survival. The Kirthar watershed provides the people of Karachi and Hyderabad with water for drinking, agriculture and industry.
All of Kirthar's precious natural and historical resources now stand threatened by an illegal contract for oil and gas development.
Illegal Concession
In 1997, in violation of Sindh provincial laws, the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions, of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, granted a concession for oil and gas development to Premier Oil Group, which later formed a joint-venture company with Shell Oil Group, now known as Shell-Premier. The Shell-Premier concession for the Dumbar Block covers more than 90% of Kirthar National Park.
Environmental and other citizens' organizations quickly pronounced the deal illegal, citing the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance of 1973, which prohibits "clearing or breaking up any land for cultivation, mining or for any other purpose in the national parks of Sindh." A 1992 Sindh Wildlife Amendment Act and a 1997 Sindh Govt. Notification further restrict development activities within the park.
Public outcry successfully stopped construction of a road through Kirthar National Park in the early 1990s; Pakistani organizations have now formed a coalition called the Citizens Committee on Kirthar to protect the park once again. The government accuses the coalition of being "anti-development," saying that people living near the park stand to prosper from oil and gas development. But the Committee points to Sui, a city where Pakistan's largest natural gas reserves have been developed for many years, yet local people are still struggling to get cooking gas connections in their homes.
Broken Promises
The Citizens Committee on Kirthar charges the government and Shell-Premier with betraying agreements they signed with environmental groups in January 2000. The January agreement called for completion of a baseline study of Kirthar's biodiversity and development of a park management plan, prior to any consideration of oil/gas development. The citizen participation mechanisms built into the January agreement have been ignored (citizen groups have been systematically excluded from meetings), and Shell-Premier is already conducting its own Environmental Impact Assessment, a clear step toward oil development and therefore illegal.
Requested Action
Environmental organizations are now petitioning the High Court of Sindh Province to declare the Shell-Premier concession illegal. They ask Global Response members to join their campaign by writing letters to Pakistan's Federal Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources and to the CEO of Shell-Premier.
Background Information
Kirthar National Park
The rolling valleys and contorted rugged lines of the Kirthar hills form a natural haven for rare urial sheep, ibex and chinkara gazelle. Jungle cats, desert cats and even the occasional leopard or desert wolf also prowl the park. Lizards, chameleons and snakes, including the Sindh cobra and Rock python, thrive in the arid subtropical climate.
The Kirthar baseline biodiversity study, currently being conducted by the University of Melbourne, Australia, has already identified almost 300 plant species previously unrecorded in the area. "The species list will grow, and these sites will probably require special management if they're going to conserve all of those rare species," says Melbourne team leader Dr. Neal Enright. Kirthar Park is part of a large protected areas complex, bordering on two wildlife sanctuaries and a game reserve.
The World of Shell
Royal Dutch Shell Group has more than 2,000 companies operating in more than 100 countries. It has the highest daily refining capacity in the world.
The Earth Day 2001 campaign will protest human rights and environmental abuses associated with fossil fuel extraction projects, including Shell's murderous collaboration with Nigeria's military. More than 2,000 Nigerian people, including famed Ogoni martyr Ken Saro-Wiwa, have been killed for opposing Shell's projects. See: www.amnestyusa.org/justearth/countries/nigeria.html
Requested Action:
Please send polite letters to the Pakistani government and Shell-Premier.
Ask them to immediately halt the ongoing Shell-Premier Environmental Impact Assessment and cancel all plans for oil and gas exploration and development in Kirthar National Park because:
Oil and gas development are clearly illegal within Kirthar National Park, according to provisions of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1973, the Sindh Wildlife Amendment Act 1993, and a Sindh Govt. Notification 1997.
The unique biodiversity of Kirthar National Park merits continued scientific study and strict preservation.
Affected communities within the park and civil society must participate fully in all discussions and decisions regarding the future of Kirthar National Park.
Write to:
1)
Usman Aminuddin, Federal Minister
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources
Government of Pakistan
Room # 305, Pak Secretariat,
A Block, Islamabad
Pakistan
Fax # Int'l code + 92-51-9206416
Email: info@mpnr.gov.pk
2) Peter Cockroft, General Manager & CEO
Premier & Shell Pakistan B.V.
4th Floor, West Half, Jang Building
Fazal-e-Haq Road, Blue Area
Islamabad
Pakistan
Fax # Int'l code + 92-51-821785
Email: pcockroft@premier-oil.com
This Global Response Action was issued at the request of and with information provided by the Citizens Committee on Kirthar and Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment.
For more information, please see these websites:
www.savekirthar.org
www.oilwatch.org.ec/tegantai/
www.shell.com/royal-en/
GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of environmental activists. In partnership with indigenous, environmentalist and peace and justice organizations around the world, GLOBAL RESPONSE develops "Actions" that describe specific, urgent threats to the environment; each "Action" asks members to write personal letters to individuals in the corporations, governments or international organizations that have the power and responsibility to take corrective action. GR also issues "Young Environmentalists' Actions" and "Eco-Club Actions" designed to educate and motivate elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.
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