DAILEKH – A collective commitment has been made for the conservation of fish in the river, lake and pond in Rakam area of Dailekh district.
In an interaction program organized by Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) at Aathbish Municipality-4, Rakam, locals and elected people’s representatives made a six-point commitment. The interaction on water discussed the woes faced by the fishermen and Badi community, who earn their living by fishing.
“It was only 7-8 years ago, we captured a 73-kg fish and sold. But now we can’t find fish. We have been crushing stones to make our ends meet,” said Ani Bk, of Aathbish Municipality-4 Rakam, at the program.
The plight of fishermen is no different from that of Ani. Hasta Bahadur Majhi of Rakam says the fish are disappearing from the river. He complained the disappearance of fish has put the fishing profession at threat. Around 10 families of Badi community have been living at Ramghat area on the bank of Karnali river in Dailekh district.
“The number of fish has been sharply declining because of human activities such as throwing poison, disposing petroleum products in the river and killing fish by electric stunning,” said Dhiren Badi of Ramghat. A participant at the water interaction, Bishnu Kala Jaishi, of Kalegaon, Aachham Panchadebal Municipality-9, said the trend of going to India as migrant worker has increased after the number of fish plummeted.
Administrative officer of Aathbis Municipality, Matrika Prasad Bhattarai, said Kalikot, Achham, and Dailekh districts have endorsed the Act related to aquatic conservation and expressed his commitment to implement them.
Acting chief at Aathbis Municipality, Prayag Shahi, expressed his commitment to implement the questions raised during the interaction. “This kind of discussions make the locals aware and put pressure on stakeholders. It will also ease the implementation of the policy,” said Shahi.
At the meeting, 44 people including Chairmen of various wards of Aathbis Municipality Dailekh, USAID Water Project Mid-Karnali Watershed Area Specialist Rishi Pradhan, Achham and Dailekh local community, and journalists were present.
Here are the commitments made at the interaction:
- Form community level group for conservation of fish and aquatic animals.
- Use fish-friendly net to capture fish; use net with big holes to save the juvenile fish.
- Control the use of electricity current, and poison to kill the fish.
- Make policy and program at municipality or ward-level for protection of aquatic.
- Stop fishing activities during breeding season of fish from mid-March to mid-June and the concerned municipality will make aquatic conservation rule.
- Make arrangement of alternative profession for the community dependent on fish.
