Introduction

The fisherfolk communities of Pakistan, comprising of about 15 millions populace, are among the poorest and most deprived population of the country. Large scale degradation of fish resources, the only livelihood resources of these communities, due to unsustainable exploitation coupled with defective governmental policies has largely added to their already augmented vulnerabilities .Besides, the fisherfolk communities have also been facing host of socio-economic problems especially lack of basic amenities of education, health and safe drinking water. Moreover, living near the coast and other water bodies the fisherfolk communities have always remained vulnerable to the natural disasters including cyclones, floods, droughts etc.

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum [PFF] was launched on May 5, 1998 by a large number of fisherfolk community representatives and NGO activists as a result of full day deliberations in a seminar organized in Karachi to discuss the threats to livelihoods of fisherfolk communities. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum [PFF] is registered organization.
Since its inception, PFF has been active in the awareness, mobilization and community organization for the protection as well as sustainable management of the fisheries and other community livelihoods through advocacy, participatory research, information dissemination and participatory community development processes.

 Background

Coasts, rivers, and other water bodies have been the nurseries of human civilization, as well as the main source of livelihoods for the human being. Being rich in biodiversity, these parts of the earth are also the main source of food and nutrition for the growing human populations.

However, the manner coastal and inland water resources are being over-exploited has exacerbated the threat of complete extinction of these food, nutritional and livelihood resources. According to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 70 percent of the fish species that are commercially caught around the world are overexploited or caught to the limit.

More than 200 million people around the world-half of them in developing countries-depend on fisheries for their income, either directly by catching fish or as workers in processing facilities. It is feared that if such over-exploitation coupled with other environmental degradation factors continued with the same pace, coastal and inland water livelihood resources especially the fisheries resources would be completely depleted.

Though the fisheries resources of the whole world are under constant threat of exhaustion the situation is more alarming in Pakistan. Millions of fisherfolk communities of Pakistan linked with the fisheries livelihoods at coast; rivers and lakes are also facing the worst ever threat of depletion of their livelihoods resources.
Our fish stocks are rapidly decreasing since last many years. According to estimates about 70 % to 80% decline has occurred in the fisheries resources of the country. A number of factors are at work to exhaust and degrade the coastal as well as inland fisheries resources of Pakistan.

Such factors include Poor management / governance of the fisheries resources, growing population of the fisherfolk communities as well as the flow of population from other sectors in the fisheries livelihoods, use of harmful nets and unsustainable fishing methods, over- fishing practices, fishing by deep sea fishing trawlers, pollution of the coastal waters and the drastic decrease in the flow of fresh water from Indus River, occupation and over fishing in the coastal creeks as well as fresh water fisheries resources by influential non-fisher people, fishing under contract systems, perils of globalization etc.

Besides, like other socially and economically deprived rural communities of Pakistan the fisherfolk communities are socio-economically marginalized. The villages in the coastal as well as inland fisherfolk communities are backward, congested, dirty, and unhygienic. Most of them suffer from inadequate water supplies and health facilities. The literacy rate is very low.

There is also little incentive for fisherfolk to send heir children to school. The fisherwomen deprived of their traditional fishing as well as net-making practices are the worst causalities the socio-economic deprivation. There is severe poverty in the fisherfolk communities, due to reduction in per boat / per trip fish catch as well as the exploitative traditional fisheries marketing as well as informal credit system, operated by the middlemen. The terms and conditions of repayment are through “bondage”. The fishermen are bound to supply fish to the middleman at a price lower than the market price. In this way the middleman maintains control over the fisherman and the fish harvest. The above-mentioned threats to the livelihoods of the fisherfolk communities and their problems compelled the young generation of the fisherfolk communities of Pakistan to take initiatives for averting those deadly threats to the livelihoods and secure the livelihood future of the present as well as future generation of the fisherfolk communities. The launching of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum [PFF] and its continious struggle is basically the result of the above realization.

 Objectives

–  To mobilize and organize the fisherfolk communities dependent for their livelihood resources on Pakistan’s coast, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and other water bodies
–  To strengthen the organizational and management capacities and skills of the local CBOs of the fisherfolk communities besides establishing and strengthening PFF units in fisherfolk localities, villages and towns of Pakistan
–  To struggle for the livelihood rights of the fisherfolk communities, sustainability in the fisheries livelihoods through advocacy, information dissemination, media campaign and dialogue.
–  To campaign for deracinating the causes and factors responsible for the depletion in the coastal as well as inland fisheries resources by advocating participatory approach and management systems for the protection and conservation of fisheries resources
–  To struggle for the restoration and protection of human rights of the fisherfolk communities of Pakistan including the right to sustainable livelihoods, basic social services, right to life and security as well as right to social and political participation
–  To work for the social-economic uplift of the fisherfolk communities and improvement in education, health, livelihoods though participatory community development activities
–  To make effort towards minimizing disaster risks faced by the communities through relief , rehabilitation as well as participatory disaster mitigation and management activities in the disaster prone areas
–  To work for betterment of the vulnerable sections of fisherfolk communities i.e. women and children especially for the empowerment of the women and the education and health of the children
–  To struggle for regional peace and cooperation for minimizing regional hostilities affecting the fisherfolk communities of Pakistan and India in the form of their arrests on the allegations of crossing coastal borders and ‘prisoner of war’ like treatment meted

 Mission

PFF Mission is to mobilize and empower the fisherfolk communities in a way that they organize themselves, with equality and gender balance, for protecting their fishing and other livelihoods; by this ensuring sustainability of the resources. PFF mission also encompasses bringing positive changes in socio-economic conditions of the fisherfolk communities and facilitating attitudinal, policy and legal changes to recognize the historical ownership rights of communities, including men and women, over the coastal as well as inland fishing grounds and fish resources, ensuring their active participation in the management and conservation of those resources.

 Vision

Economically empowered and prosperous, socially conscious and organizationally cohesive fisherfolk communities of Pakistan, enjoying historical rights on their fishing livelihoods and the active participation fisherfolk men and women in the management and conservation of their livelihood resources to ensure sustainability of the resources for their future generations.

 Strategy

PFF has adopted the strategy of mass mobilization and awareness, advocacy, campaigns and community development for achieving its goals. PFF strongly believes in participatory approach of community awareness and development actively involving the local communities and other key stakeholders in the process.

 PFF Programs

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum has been providing institutional and social services to the communities under its following programs:

– Advocacy & Awareness Services [AAS]

PFF has been involved in advocacy and awareness campaigns on a number of issues concerning the livelihoods of the fisherfolk communities of Pakistan. Those issues include: depletion of fish resources, lack of sustainable fisheries policy, over exploitation of fish resource by deep sea trawlers, negative impact of the use of harmful nets as well as contract system in fishing livelihoods, degradation of Indus Delta due to reduced fresh water flow downstream Kotri Barrage, arrest of fishermen Pakistan and Indian law enforcing agencies and prisoner of war like treatment meted out with them etc.

– Community Organization Services [COS]

PFF is engaged in mobilizing the fisherfolk communities to organize their local groups and CBOs to work for the solution of the local community problems. So far more than 80 groups/ CBOs have been formed in different fisherfolk localities and villages in Pakistan. Majority of the groups/ CBOs work as the local units of Fisherfolk Forum [PFF], others working as independent groups/ CBOs, receiving technical support from PFF. PFF is also engaged in strengthening those community organizations through trainings which include: organizational management, leadership, effective communication, proposal writing, strategic development, gender and development and other trainings.

– Health & Education for Community [HEC]

As the fisherfolk communities lack basic facilities of education and health, PFF is seriously involved in community development initiatives in education and health sector, by providing basic education and health facilities wherever these facilities are not available and supplementing government’s facilities in both these sectors wherever such facilities are inadequate. Besides, PFF is also actively involved in advocacy with the local, provincial as well as federal government to provide these basic facilities to the local communities.

– Disaster Management Services [DMS]

The fisherfolk communities are vulnerable to the natural disasters. Especially the coastal communities of Badin and Thatta have been experiencing worst disasters in the form of floods, cyclones and droughts during the recent years. PFF jointly with its partners including Oxfam GB Sindh has been involved in relief, rehabilitation as well as disaster mitigation /management activities in the coastal districts of Badin and Thatta since 1999. PFF is also actively engaged in advocacy processes to sensitize the governments to ensure sustainable disaster management plans for the disaster prone areas.

– Natural Resource Management Program [NRMP]

Degradation of natural livelihood resources and ecosystems especially Indus Delta ecosystems, fisheries, forests, agriculture resources etc is the key cause of growing community poverty levels ands social deprivation. PFF is engaged in awareness and advocacy process to sensitize the governments and aware the local communities for the community based management of the natural resources for their sustainability. Besides, PFF is also engaged in community based initiatives for natural resource conservation including mangrove plantation etc.

– Research, Information Dissemination & Publishing Services [RIDPS]

PFF is also engaged in participatory research on the natural livelihood resources as well as socio-economic and poverty related issues aimed at providing policy guidance/ recommendations in the sector. The research studies are also properly disseminated through conferences, seminars, workshops; publication of research papers .Besides, PFF is also publishing a regular newsletter in Sindhi, Urdu and English which carry research reports and other community based activity reports.

– Capacity Enhancing & Cultural Services [CECS]

PFF has adopted two-dimensional approach towards general education regarding community-organization relationship. The PFF’s Capacity Building Unit [CBU] is engaged in trainings to the local communities on natural resource management, organization management and other themes, on one hand. While its cultural group Fisherfolk Theatre depicts and by this mean advocates the socio-political issues and educative themes of fisherfolk communities within as well as exterior the community.