Marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Sunday, the minister highlighted the importance of preserving and passing down traditional and Indigenous knowledge across generations.
He said coastal communities had accumulated 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 and sustainable fisheries,” Chaudhry said.
He noted that communities stretching from Karachi and the Indus Delta to Gwadar and Jiwani remained heavily dependent on fisheries, mangroves, wetlands and other marine resources.
According to the minister, fishing communities in Karachi’s coastal settlements were facing growing pressure from urbanisation, pollution and habitat degradation. Meanwhile, communities in the Indus Delta were dealing with freshwater shortages, saltwater intrusion, coastal erosion and changing fish populations.
