ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has called for recognition of traditional ecological knowledge practised by local coastal communities, saying it can strengthen climate adaptation, marine conservation and sustainable fisheries.

In a statement marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed on Sunday, the minister highlighted the broader importance of traditional and Indigenous knowledge systems and their transmission across generations.

He said traditional coastal communities had developed generations of knowledge about tides, fishing grounds, marine species, weather patterns, mangroves and coastal ecosystems.

“Traditional knowledge is not merely a legacy of the past. It is a living resource that can contribute to climate resilience, sustainable fisheries,” Chaudhry said.

He said communities along the coast from Karachi and the Indus Delta to Gwadar and Jiwani remained closely dependent on fisheries, mangroves, wetlands and other marine resources.

The minister said fishing communities in Karachi’s coastal settlements faced increasing pressure from urbanisation, pollution and habitat degradation, while communities in the Indus Delta were confronting freshwater shortages, saline intrusion, erosion and changing fisheries.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2026