IUCN Karachi Programme Office Celebrates World Wetland Day

The Karachi Programme Office of IUCN Pakistan on February 2, 2022, celebrated the World Wetlands Day. The mangrove plantation sites chosen for the celebration included Bhera, Dam, Balochistan.

Coastal communities, both men and women, and other prime stakeholders, such as representatives of the Balochistan Forest Department, Pakistan Navy, and the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme team participated in the event.

The event included mangroves plantation and community trainings, imparted by IUCN KPO team in the field.
The celebrations were organized and led by Dr. Babar Hussain and were supported by other team members.
 

Karot Biodiversity Management Plan Implementation Project  celebrated ‘World Wetlands Day

On 30 August 2021, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2 February as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness of the urgency of reversing the accelerating loss of wetlands and to promote their conservation and restoration. The day marks the date of the adoption of the "Convention on Wetlands of International Importance" held in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Through the designation of protected areas, the implementation of effective policies, and the sharing of knowledge, the Convention enables countries to take measures to protect their wetlands and to use them wisely. Adopted by 172 countries, each country joining the Convention must designate at least one wetland to be included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites).

Lecture - Government Girls Elementary School, Chanore, Punjab

World Wetland Day was celebrated with the students of Government Girls Elementary School, Chanore, Punjab. A general introduction of Wetlands, their history, significance & theme were discussed in  lecture by Ms. Komal Ashraf (Social Mobilizer, Punjab Field Office) with the students.

This year the theme “Wetlands Action for People and Nature” highlighted the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and planetary health. Later, the students were shown a documentary on Wetlands of Pakistan – Places of Spectacular Beauty & Biodiversity

Art competition in Government Boys Middle School, Azad Pattan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir

An art competition was organized for the students of government boys middle school, Azad Pattan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir to highlight the importance of the World Wetlands Day. The competition was designed and supervised by Ms. Aliya Bashir Butt (Social Mobilizer, Karot Power Project). Students actively took part in the competition and came up with interesting ideas to reflect the threats being faced by the wetlands of Pakistan.

The Karot biodiveristy project team was represented by two social mobilizers, a sand mining inspector and four watchers. Two presidents of the Village Conservation Committees, Muhammad Ramzan and Arshad Hussain from VCC Guin Nallah and Sia Kas Nalluh respectively attended the event.

After the conclusion of art competition, an an awareness session was conducted for students in which both Aliya Bashir and Saeeda Farooq briefed the participants about importance of the World Wetlands Day and the threats faced by the wetlands. The key stakeholders were represented by the Education Department and Village Conservation Committees who also shared their views about wetland day and appreciated the efforts of IUCN towards biodiversity conservation in their specific target areas and ensured their support in achieving the targets.

Awareness Walks:
Awareness walks were organized at the following locations where key stakeholders joined IUCN team to observe this day of international importance.

1. Azad Pattan, AJ&K
2. Holard Bridge, AJ&K
3. Karot Dam Site , AJ&K

Message by Mr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Country Representative IUCN Pakistan