LAHORE: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has sought to reassure residents of Thar`s Gorrano village that it would `engage` with the coal mining company to ensure that the firm does not use a past IUCN ornithological study in the region to, what the residents allege, conceal the adverse social and ecological impacts of mining activities on groundwater, agriculture, grazing land and animal and human health in the area.

The IUCN commitment is made in response to a letter from the Thar residents, with its director general Dr Grethel Aguilar, saying the report in question is a preliminary ornithological study conducted in 2018 on the water pond near Gorrano within the Thar coal operational area to document migratory birds visiting the region in winter.

`The study aimed to identify migratorybirds frequenting this artificial wetland and its main purpose was to map the species visiting the area, and to suggest measures to increase the site`s attractiveness to water birds, particularly migratory species that winter in Thar,` Dr Aguilar said in a letter to the residents of the affected area.

`This work was focused on the conservation of species such as vultures, as well as on mapping the fauna and flora of Thar.

The referenced study`s scope did not include water quality assessment, safety evaluation or investigation of impacts related to community concerns. The study, therefore, does not offer relevant information or findings on issues of water quality or safety,` she said, promising to engage with the coal company to ensure that references made to the IUCN survey by it are accurate and that any issues regarding water quality are assessed separately.

The IUCN reassurance came in response to a letter sent by the Tharparkar residents, saying several settlements, including the village of Gorrano and its surrounding settlements, had been badly affected by coal mining and coal-based power generation there. Despite best efforts by Dawn no one from the IUCN could be contacted to confirm or otherwise if the organisation had followed up on its commitment with the people of Thar.

However, the residents of the affected region have demanded that the IUCN share with them `evidence and outcomeof its communication with the mining company regarding the misuse of its report as committed by its director general, with the objective of sharing with us a commitment by the company that it will never use this report to its benefit/ advantage in any manner or form and at any legal, judicial, social and any other relevant forums`.

The letters from both parties are available with Dawn.

The representatives of the affected villages had pointed out to the IUCN that Gorrano water reservoir, built by the Sindh government in 2016 to hold water from coal mining in Thar coalfield blockII, was being filled with `poisonous and polluted` water, and thus, had serious social and environmental impacts on the villagers. But, they said, the IUCN report allegedly produced with the financial support of the coal mining company had declared that the reservoir water was in no way poisonous or polluted and, therefore, did not have any social or environment al impact s.

`The report goes on to claim that this water is in fact not just highly suitable for breeding fish, it can also provide a sanctuary to local and migratory birds. It says Gorrano has turned into a tourist spot where people living close by, particularly children, come for sightseeing, they added.

Terming the report one-sided andopposite to the ground reality, the residents said the report was flaunted by the coal mining firm in courts and presented to the media to prove that water being released in Gorrano was not polluted at all. They contended that their agricultural lands had been devastated and groundwater level in the area continued to rise due to the reservoir.

`Local plant species have diminished and pastures inundated by polluted water spread over 1,834 acres of land.

Now Gorrano is not left with grazing land and it also does not have cultivable agricultural land.

`You cannot even imagine how local residents, entirely dependent on livestock and subsistence agriculture, make ends meet these days. Some 26 wells have been rendered unusable and more are getting affected in other villages, they said.

In view of the situation, they have urged IUCN to do a fresh study on Gorrano coal water reservoir`s impact on local population, environment and economy, conduct independent tests of the water reservoir, clarify and retract the previous report and evaluate the negative impacts of the poisonous coal mining water being released near Dukar Chau so that the human population, environment and natural resources of this village could be saved from the destruction that has already befallen Gorrano.