President Zardari addresses the World Summit for Social Development in Doha, November 4, 2025. PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTAN
ISLAMABAD:
President Asif Ali Zardari, reaffirming commitment to conservation and sustainable management of wetlands, urged citizens, especially youth, local communities and policy makers, to value, protect and sustainably manage wetlands as vital cultural and ecological assets.
“This day marks the adoption of the Wetlands Convention, also known as the Ramsar Convention, in 1971. Pakistan is a signatory to this historic agreement, which promotes the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources for present and future generations,” the President said in a message to mark the celebration of World Wetlands Day on February 2.
He said the theme of World Wetlands Day 2026, “Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage,” reminded them that wetlands were not simple ecological systems.
“These are living cultural landscapes shaped over centuries by local communities. Across Pakistan, traditional knowledge and practices related to wetlands have supported livelihoods, food security, biodiversity conservation and a balanced relationship with nature,” the media wing of the Presidential Secretariat said in a statement, quoting the President.
President Zardari said water security in the region depends on responsible and legal cross-border cooperation. “Pakistan remains concerned about India’s unilateral actions affecting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, a legally binding agreement that has governed the equitable sharing of waters in the Indus Basin for decades,” he added.
He noted that the suspension of conventional mechanisms, including the sharing of hydrological data, undermined trust and predictability when climate pressures demanded greater cooperation.
“Water must never be used as a tool of coercion, and the weaponization of water as an instrument of war against Pakistan must be rejected, as disruption of river flow threatens millions of lives, livelihoods and food systems in a country dependent on the Indus Basin,” he stressed.
The President observed that healthy wetlands reduce flooding, protect coastlines, support livelihoods and reduce emissions, adding that neglecting them multiplies climate losses, while their restoration generates high benefits for resilience, economy and ecology.
He observed that Pakistan was among the countries least responsible for climate change but most exposed to its consequences. “Our wetlands are the climate defenders on the front lines against floods, droughts, heatwaves and sea level rise,” he added.
Pakistan’s diverse wetlands, the President said, play a vital role in biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, water regulation and disaster risk reduction.
