Karnali– Dhir Bahadur Shahi recalls catching 900 snow trout fish with his gill net in Ramgaad in 1998. Shahi, now Chairperson of Thantikand Rural Municipality, said the fish weighed anywhere from 1 to 3 kilograms (kg) back then but that now it’s impossible to catch a snow trout that weighs even 1 kg.
The numbers of freshwater fish have been declining in the rural municipality, and across the country, due mainly to unsustainable and destructive fishing practices such as using electrical currents, explosives or poisonous substances, which kill fish in large numbers.
In addition, hydroelectric or irrigation dams often do not release the minimum amount of water required to support fish or build fish passage systems. Riverbed mining, environmentally unsound rural road and other infrastructure construction, and dumping of solid and liquid wastes, including industrial, medical and domestic waste, have also contributed to the decline.
According to local fishers throughout Paani watersheds, the size and abundance of fish is drastically declining. In the past, fishers throughout the watersheds report, they would not have to walk more than an hour to catch 2 to 3 kgs of fish, whereas now, they find themselves walking for hours in the river to come up with anything close to that amount.
Otters, whose presence indicates a healthy river system, have not been seen in the past 20 years in the Middle Karnali and Tila watersheds. And the Aquatic Animals Protection Act that was enacted in 1961has hardly been implemented, let alone enforced.
To prevent further degradation of habitat and loss of fish and other aquatic biodiversity, and to promote sustainable capture fisheries based livelihoods, Paani has been working closely with Chamundabindrasaini, Aathabis, Dullu , Panchdewal Binayak, and Kamal Bazar municipalities and with Thatikand and Turmakhand rural municipalities in the Middle Karnali watershed to develop the legal provisions needed to protect rivers and the life within them.
Collaboration and Consultation Leads to Endorsement
Paani held a number of consultation meetings with the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, ward chairpersons and ward members, and select residents of Turmakhand Rural Municipality, Achham district to discuss the need for developing specific laws for the conservation of aquatic animals and aquatic biodiversity and to hand over a stretch of the river or lake to the local community to develop, conserve, manage, sustainably use and equitably share benefits.
Paani then met with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Chamunda Bindrasaini Municipality; Mayor, Aathabis Municipality; and Chairperson, Thantikandh Rural Municipality, Dailekh. After a discussion with the Paani team about the different aspects of conservation of aquatic animals, they also highlighted the need for such a law. Ultimately, both Mayors expressed their commitment in writing to develop an Aquatic Animals and Biodiversity Conservation law.
In the past, Mr. Sher Bahadur Shahi, Mayor, Chamunda Bindrasaini, explained, governments tried to apply one piece of legislation for conservation of aquatic life throughout the country but it didn’t work. Policies must be based on the particular food and feeding habits, habitat and migration patterns of aquatic animals. There is no “one size fits all” law that can be applied to the Tarai, Shivaliks, Middle Hills and Mountains, they explained.
Based on an initial round of feedback from local stakeholders on the outline and provisions of the law, Paani developed the draft Aquatic Animals and Biodiversity Conservation Bill, which the program presented in a one-day workshop on the Local Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation Act in Middle Karnali Watershed, Rakam Karnali, Aathabis Municipality on June 20, 2018. Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Chairpersons, Ward Chairs, ward members from seven municipalities and rural municipalities from Achham and Dailekh district and local government staff, fisher community members (including Badis and Majhis), and NGO representatives thoroughly reviewed the provisions of the Bill.
Paani then revised the Bill based on their input, and the Municipal Assembly of Pancha Deval Binayak, Achham and Chamunda Bindrasaini Municipality, and the Village Assembly of Thantikandh Rural Municipality, Dailekh passed the Bill respectively on June 24, 28 and 29, 2018. Similarly, the respective assemblies of Aathabis Municipality and Dullu Municipality, Dailekh district, and Turmakhand Rural Municipality, Achham district passed the bill in July. As the Karnali River’s two banks in Middle Karnali watershed lie in three different districts and in both Karnali Pradesh and Province no. 7,the regulatory system must be put in place by the local governments of the two provinces. Accordingly, Paani worked with the local governments of both provinces from the start, who rigorously worked to develop, review and revise the law – and finally pass it.
The objectives of the new Aquatic Animals and Biodiversity Conservation Act (AABCA) are:
- To make necessary legal provisions to conserve aquatic animals and aquatic biodiversity,
- To promote and manage aquatic animal-based livelihoods,
- To strengthen the inter-relationships and inter-dependency between the communities dependent on water resources and aquatic animals, and;
- To promote the wellbeing and economic interests of common citizens by conserving rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, aquatic animals and aquatic biodiversity.
Provisions in the Law
The law prohibits use of any type of electrical current, explosive or poisonous substance in rivers or lakes with the intent of catching or killing any aquatic animal and defines which size of nets, trawls and gill nets are permitted. Similarly, the import or purchase and sell of poisonous substances, pesticides, batteries, and nets, trawls and current nets that do not meet the size requirements are prohibited. However, the law does give citizens the right to kill or catch aquatic animals in accordance with the order issued pursuant to the Act. It also imposes a duty on every person, group, organization or agency to conserve and use biodiversity sustainably.
The law also requires developers to make arrangements to ensure the movement or passage of fish and other aquatic animals upstream and downstream. For example, the law requires catching fish and other aquatic animals downstream and releasing them upstream where it is not possible to construct a fish ladder while constructing a dam. In addition, the law requires ensuring a minimum environmental flow of at least 25 per cent of the minimum flow of a river or lake in the dry season to not cause harm, loss or damage to biodiversity and to preserve social, cultural and economic activities downstream.
Finally, one of the main objectives of the law is to promote co-management of fish and aquatic biodiversity and their habitat. The law provides for detailed legal measures to handover any part of the river or lake to a Community Aquatic Animal Conservation Group to allow the group to develop, conserve, manage and use the river or lake in a sustainable manner in accordance with the statute, and to catch, kill, collect, sell and distribute aquatic animals, including fish, equitably. Once a Community Aquatic Animal Conservation Group is duly registered, it becomes a legal entity with autonomy and perpetual succession.
The statute of the Community Aquatic Animal Conservation Group must provide for provisions relating to the conservation of fish, other aquatic animals and biodiversity; details of breeding areas of fish and other aquatic animals; and nursing grounds and parts for fish fingerlings to play and grow up. In addition, it includes details of conservation and management methods of those areas and places; details of when (months) and where (areas) from which fish and other aquatic animals can be collected in one year; and details of areas of the proposed community river area, or lakes where the ban is to be imposed on catching or killing fish and other aquatic animals throughout the year. It also includes provisions relating to equitable access, sustainable use and equitable distribution of benefits for single women, persons with disabilities, Dalits, indigenous nationalities, the disadvantaged in the proposed community river area or lake area; and details of special benefits, facilities and outputs to be provided to single women, Dalits, indigenous nationalities and disadvantaged households; provisions regarding women’s representation in the key or vital positions of the executive committee, among others.
The law also provides for different fines for the breach of its provisions. For instance, there will be a fine for the use of nets such as gillnets, trawls and current nets with mesh sizes less than 5cm (50mm) and 10cm (100cm) with the intent of catching fish and other aquatic animals in an amount up to Rs 5,000, an amount up to Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 if the same offence is committed the second time, and Rs 15,000 for each subsequent time the offence is committed.
Paani is supporting local governments to hand over different river stretches to Community Aquatic Animal Conservation Groups in Middle Karnali watershed based on the law, which includes this provision. Paani will also support other local governments to develop and implement such law in Paani’s other watersheds.
“Drafting of the necessary laws is the responsibility of local government,” said Mr. Khadag Raj Upadhyaya, Mayor, Aathbis Municipality. “Paani has done us a favor by supporting us to draft the law based on our comments, suggestions and feedback. Now we Mayors and Chairpersons need to enact the draft law.
