HYDERABAD: The Pakis­tan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Tuesday staged an awareness rally to mark Interna­tional Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer here on Tuesday, urging people to show adaptation to positive approaches towards containing carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere.

The walk was led by PFF chairperman Mohammad Ali Shah, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) activist Maria Soomro, Mustafa Meerani, Aine Pathan and others. It started from the Sindh University old campus and ended outside the local press club.

Speaking to the participants, Mr Shah regretted that the government didn’t have the climate change issue on its agenda not did it have any sustainable development policies to avoid disasters and mitigate risks.

He observed that developed countries were contributing more to carbon dioxide emission causing global warming. Floods in Pakistan, a result of the climate change due to the massive emission, ultimately posed a serious threat to the poor people residing along rivers and natural waterways, he said, adding that government remain­ed indifferent to the situation.

Floods were destroying towns, villages and cities while people were facing food insecurity due to depleting natural resources, he said.

He said that government was blocking natural flows of rivers by executing mega projects. These mega projects coupled with encroachments, deforestation, housing schemes etc. on riverbeds had blocked the natural course of the Indus and its distributaries and displaced the indigenous population, he observed.

The PFF leader said that ozone layer depletion was caused by manmade actions mainly in developed countries but the poor population of under developed states were paying the price.

He also criticised the initiative of 104-member grand alliance of powerful corporations, multinational companies and governments by the name of ‘global partnership on oceans’ to exploit sea and river water resources, and said the move was bound to deprive the poor of their right on water.

He urged environmentalists and other people to raise their voice against environmental degradation to save the future generations.

He also demanded restoration of all natural waterways in Sindh.

Mustafa Meerani said government was not giving importance to environmental issues and as a result people in the province feared massive displacement in the event of floods hitting the Sindh areas.

Abdul Wahid Sangrasi of the Strengthening Participa­tory Organisation said government should learn lessons from recent super flood that devastated parts of the country and flooded cities and villages. He called for designing risk-reduction programmes to avert disasters.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2014