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Hundreds of Fishermen Vow to Participate in Improving the Quality of Healthy Life and Protecting the Environment 

Iraq’s Marshlands are the largest wetland habitat in the Middle East, but years of damming, drainage, pollution and illegal practices of fishermen have rendered the area inadequate for the survival of the area’s plants, animals, and humans. WHO, in collaboration with the government, civil societies and local community has been involved in planning for environmental health awareness as part of the LADP efforts in Missan, Thi-Qar, and Al-Basrain the re-building of the Marshlands and training in community participatory environmental protection. 

In accordance with the LADP Local Steering Committees recommendations, WHO organised workshops on illegal fishing in each community earlier this summer. More than 750 local fishermen in three communities of Maimouna, Chibayish, and Midaina participated in day-long workshops, trainings, and mobilization on fishing, after which WHO provided the participants with new and environmentally-safe fishing nets.  

WHO was also able to recruit the strong support of the Local District Council in ensuring that community-driven efforts at legal, healthy, and sustainable fishing go beyond just those trained but rather builds upon the capacity of the fishermen who have been trained to disseminate healthy fishing messages in their community and surrounding communities.  

The active atmosphere of participation and the room given to fishermen to express their concerns and problems was cited by the participants as one of the more successful and “fresh” approaches to community health and environmental protectionawareness raising.  

Local representatives from the faith-based communities were also present to discuss fishing as well as environmental protection responsibility from the Islamic teaching’s perspective, which provided a holistic civic, moral, and religious obligation to participants to change their unhealthy, and often illegal and environmentally damaging, practices. 

Almost all participants partook in a tradition named (Rayat Al Abbas) whereby they vowed to not practice any illegal fishing and to be community advocates for the protection of their environment and the health of their people.