the ceremony organized jointly by Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tando Jam and WWF- Pakistan in connection with ‘World Rivers Day 2020’.

President Sindh Agriculture Forestry Workers Coordinating Organization (SAFWCO) Suleman G. Abro Tuesday said the tail end people, specially coastal areas had equal right to the river to get water for agriculture crops and human consumption.

He stated this while addressing the ceremony organized jointly by Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tando Jam and WWF- Pakistan at the university premises in connection with ‘World Rivers Day 2020’.

The coastal community people hailing from Keti Bunder and Kharo Chhan, Thatta districts, researchers, environmentalists, students and academia participated in the event.

Suleman G Abro on World Rivers Day said “We do not have technology to store rain water, which sometimes creates flood-like situation”. Citing an example, he said the tail end area people were experiencing rain flood, which had caused destruction and displacement all around.

He said there were reports that industries flow their untreated waste to the river and other fresh water resources, which provided water to the communities for drinking and agriculture. There were findings that the fresh water canals had arsenic in some areas, causing human diseases and environmental degradation, killing many valuable species, he added.

Manager Natural Resource Management (NRM) at WWF-Pakistan Saeed-ul-Islam gave a presentation, pointed out that almost all the rivers in the world were facing degradation and pollution due to many factors, mainly building dams and diversions and receiving industrial and municipal waste.

He said the River Indus had built the sixth largest delta of the world long ago and now it was home of hundreds of thousand species, which were fighting the war of their survival due to water declining in the river streams for more times of the year.

At present time, he said rivers were considered a cheap source for generating hydro power to meet the needs of growing population.

The WWF focuses on environment conservation, forest, wildlife, alternative energy, oceans and rivers. In case the delta depleted it will have economic impacts on communities in terms of their livelihoods.

He realized the facts that the river was receiving industrial waste and municipal waste directly and has turned polluted. Per capita water consumption is increasing day after the day. Thus water scarcity was increasing, and seems unable to meet the needs of agriculture and growing population, he said.

The focal person of Sindh Agriculture University TandoJam Prof.

Ismail Kumbhar said leading rivers in different countries had economic role. Because, the rights of these rivers have been recognized to flow smoothly to its ultimate end. In some countries, the entire transportation system depends on the river which had more water flow to provide space for water transport. “We are losing freshwater resources and fertile lands together because of depleting fresh water sources,” he said.

He also talked on natural rivers, which had been blocked through development, causing urban and rural floods during the recent rain spells.

He said earlier there were old rivers, which used to take rain flood water to the sea through different creeks. Now these old water ways have been blocked, leaving communities in a helpless situation. He called upon participants to assist policy makers for policy designing to save the river and its ecosystem.

Love Kumar, a fresh water expert at WWF-Pakistan talked on losing scenic beauty and nature which are formed by the river water system by bringing silt and sediments.

He said environmental degradation was a major threat to the river system due to climate change, global warming, and water scarcity. Water is life for humans and helm maintain the ecosystem, saving wildlife and marine life.

Saima Awan, a PhD scholar in water resources management, gave a presentation on “water for all” said there was a need of creating awareness among the communities regarding sustainable use of water.

The nature and ecosystem had also rights on water like humans and agriculture, she said and advocated for lower riparian to have water rights to survive through agriculture as well as for human consumption.

Dr Humaira Aysha of WWF in her concluding remarks said despite the ban on manufacturing and use of plastic bags, the authorities yet to implement their own law to save the water bodies, which are being polluted due to plastic bags.

She said the coastal people residing in the delta along the sea know the importance of fresh water, as they are experiencing difficulties to get safe water for consumption to live alive.

She said COVID-19 pandemic was the result of human intervention with nature. “We have to educate student cadre and communities to protect nature to avoid problems, like Covid-19, which has shaken the world”, she emphasized.

Later, delta heroes, community mangroves protectors received appreciation shields in recognition of their contribution to save natural resources.

The article is originally published at urdu point