PFF initiates two-week activities to mark International Rivers Day

To mark International River Day, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Monday launched its two-week campaign under the theme of "Rights of Rivers and Personhood Rights of Indus River” to spread awareness about rivers, especially the Indus, and the rights of fisherpeople. International Rivers Day will be celebrated on March 14 around the world.

The PFF’s two-week campaign will culminate on March 14 after conducting several activities across the province, particularly in the coastal areas, said a statement from the fishermen's rights body.

PFF chairperson Muhammad Ali Shah said that mobilisation meetings, seminars, conference and people’s tribunals would be held, while letters would be sent to government officials during this period. Also, a provincial dialogue would be held in Karachi on March 10 while a grand rally would be organised in Hyderabad on March 14.

Besides it, the PFF is increasing public awareness to highlight the rights of rivers, including the River Indus, acute water scarcity, degradation and illegal occupation of lakes, destruction of the Indus Delta, diversion of rivers through dam-building.

Shah said the managing eco-services were unfortunately used to defend state policies for misuse and misappropriation of water as human development via the construction of dams and barrages, and now by promoting coalmining and power.

The PFF chief said that environmental laws remained an illusion in respect of enforcement. “The constitution acknowledges the right to life but not to livelihood,” he said. “The federal government and water bureaucracy are 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 given birth to and nurtured by water. Since states regularly violate rights, substantive protection requires constitutional amendments that enable judicial protection, he said.