Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum (PFF) is holding two weeks of activities and events to mark International Rivers Day from March 1st to 14th.
As per details, PFF’s two week of events are being celebrated under the theme of ‘Rights of Rivers and Personhood Rights of Indus River’. The initiative is aimed it spreading awareness about various threats posed to rivers and their environment.
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The events will culminate on March 14th which is celebrated as “International River’s Day” around the world.
Expressing his views Muhammad Ali Shah – Chairperson PFF has said that meetings, seminars, conferences will be held, government officials will be written to in order to highlight the significance of rivers and essential steps that are required to preserve them.
Highlighting PFF’s role, Ali Shah noted that his organization is increasing public awareness to highlight the rights of rivers and Personhood Rights of River Indus, acute water scarcity, degradation and illegal occupation of lakes, destruction of Indus Delta, diversion of rivers through dam building.
Managing eco-services is unfortunately used to defend state policies for misuse and misappropriation of water as human development via the construction of dams and barrages, and now promoting coal mining and power, for example, he added.
Furthermore, Chairperson PFF noted that environmental laws remain an illusion of enforcement. “The constitution acknowledges the right to life but not to livelihood,” he said. “The federal government and water bureaucracy is inexplicably committed to the construction of additional mega dams despite the much lower cost of water conservation in agriculture and industry.”
Hence, living rivers and oceans cannot be defended without a new paradigm of assigning personhood rights to water bodies, including all life forms birthed and nurtured by water. Since states regularly violate rights, substantive protection requires constitutional amendments that enable judicial protection, he said.
Pakistan Fisherfolk believes that unless we grant fundamental human rights to the Indus River and Delta the way we have granted to citizens, the delta may not be restored. “We must accord its fundamental rights to live, to survive and to “smile”,” he said.
In addition to already massive pollution by ‘modern’ agriculture upstream, a large number of coal power plants further threaten the productive ecology of water bodies and hence of land. Campaign for rights of rivers and wetlands and the ocean may hopefully mitigate coal impacts now and eventually lead to the eradication of coal and other fossil fuels in the energy system of Pakistan, he said.
The schedule of activities to be held is as follows;
- 4 March – District level dialogue
- 8 March – Women and water
- 9 March – Press conference
- 10 March – Rallies
- 10 March – Provincial dialogue
- 11 March – Short marches
- 12-13 March – Cultural programs
- 14 March – Public rally on rights of rivers and personhood rights to Indus Delta
World Rivers Day
World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of our rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encourages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world. Rivers in virtually every country face an array of threats, and only through our active involvement can we ensure their health in the years ahead.
In 2005, the United Nations launched the Water for Life Decade to help create a greater awareness of the need to better care for our water resources. Following this, the establishment of World Rivers Day was in response to a proposal initiated by internationally renowned river advocate, Mark Angelo.
The proposal for a global event to celebrate rivers was based on the success of BC Rivers Day, which Mark Angelo had founded and led in western Canada since 1980. A World Rivers Day event was seen by agencies of the UN as a good fit for the aims of the Water for Life Decade and the proposal was approved.
River enthusiasts from around the world came together to organize the inaugural WRD event. That first event in 2005 was a great success and Rivers Day was celebrated across dozens of countries. Since then, the event has continued to grow. It is annually celebrated on the fourth Sunday of every September. Last year, several million people in up to 100 countries celebrated the many values of our waterways.
