'Proper care of waterways is the most pressing environmental challenge'
Mark Angelo is an internationally celebrated river conservationist. He is the founder and Chair of both BC and World Rivers Day and is Chair Emeritus of the Rivers Institute at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). He has received both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada (his country's highest honour) in recognition of his conservation efforts over the past four decades. As an avid paddler, Mark has traveled along close to 1,000 rivers around the world. From 2003 to 2005, his acclaimed Riverworld programme played to sold-out audiences across North America and the programme's website had more than 40 million visits. Mark continues to work on conservation issues, both across Canada and elsewhere in the world. He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Simon Fraser University in recognition of his river conservation efforts.
Interviewed by Sheikh Rokon. He is a journalist.
Sheikh Rokon (SR): We know that your movement had spread over from Canada and now it is global. How did you start this movement? What was your first step?
Mark Angelo (MA): When I first moved to the Canadian province of British Columbia in the early 70′s, I eagerly anticipated living in an area that was renowned for its waterways.
Yet, despite its abundance of incredible rivers and streams, I was surprised that there wasn't a provincial event of some kind celebrating their significance. In an effort to address this, I and some like-minded friends approached the Province in 1980 about endorsing an inaugural Rivers Day event that would take place on the last Sunday in September. To commemorate that, we organised a clean-up on the Thompson River, a major tributary of the Fraser.
On that day, a flotilla of rafts and a large group of volunteers collected a massive amount of garbage and debris while also working with local towing companies to remove a number of abandoned cars that sat on the rocks above the river. The event was a great success!
That evening, participants gathered to reflect on how rewarding the day had been. Eager to do it again, more activities and clean-ups were planned for the following year. The event soon took on a life of its own and it has grown exponentially ever since.
SR: What initially attracted you to riverine causes?
MA: I've been drawn to rivers since childhood and, as long as I can recall, I've been captivated by moving water. I wasn't very old, however, before I gained an appreciation of the many threats that confront our waterways.
Living beside the Los Angeles River as a boy, I spent a great deal of time along this once productive stream, now almost lifeless and entirely encased in a massive concrete culvert. I also remember a family trip to Arizona in the early 60′s when I witnessed the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, flooding one of America's most beautiful canyons. Then, moving to Montana, I lived close to the Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River, an area widely known at the time as a toxic site due to accumulating contaminants from an upstream mine.
During my years in Montana, I also became an avid paddler and fly-fisher. By that point, I knew I wanted to spend my life doing whatever I could to conserve, protect, and restore rivers.
SR: How did you become allied with United Nations water programme?
MA: Given the original success of Rivers Day in British Columbia, I couldn't help but imagine the possibilities for a similar international event. When the United Nations announced that they would embark on the “Water for Life Decade” commencing in 2005, a programme aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of our global water resources, I thought the establishment of a formal World Rivers Day would be a complementary fit.
Consequently, we broached the idea with various agencies of the UN and received their blessing. In September, 2005, the first World Rivers Day was celebrated and, after formally partnering with the Water for Life Decade initiative, the event grew in leaps and bounds.
This year, millions of people in almost seventy countries will participate in Rivers Day celebrations. Events will take place from Canada to South Africa; from England to Austria; from Bangladesh to China; and from Australia to the United States.
SR: You have visited around 1,000 rivers around the globe, we know. What was the most exciting?
MA: I feel fortunate to have traveled on so many of the world's waterways, and these experiences have certainly reinforced my view that rivers are the arteries of our planet. In terms of trying to pick one that is a personal favourite, that's hard to do because all waterways are unique and special in their own way. However, some of our early kayaking and rafting expeditions in the 70's had an extra element of excitement simply because some of these rivers hadn't been run very often, if at all, at that time and we didn't fully know what to expect.
SR: What is your observation on the challenges facing the global river movement?
MA: Rivers in all countries face an array of threats and challenges, ranging from pollution and urbanisation to the excessive extraction of water and the building of dams. Climate change is also having an increasing impact on many of the world's waterways. And the fact that rivers tend to be lengthy linear features that cross an array of jurisdictions further complicates the issue. For all these reasons, I believe proper care of waterways is the most pressing environmental challenge.
SR: What should be done to make all the rivers healthy in Bangladesh, and around the globe?
MA: Clearly, there's a need for governments, at all levels, to do more in terms of ensuring that appropriate laws and policies are in place and that they're properly enforced. I also believe that local residents and communities are often in the best position to make a real difference. In addition, I'm a great believe in the importance of non-government organisations, which undertake essential work in terms of increasing public awareness and profiling specific river issues. A good example is the work of the Riverine People, which has brought together an impressive group of proactive individuals, all with a dire passion for rivers. They've also undertaken admirable efforts to engage youth which is vital. The work of groups like this, I believe, is key if we are to see “positive change” when it comes to safeguarding waterways.
SR: What is your experience of visiting this part of the globe, I mean South Asia or Bangladesh?
MA: South Asia is one of my favourite parts of the world and I have traveled by river in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. In fact, I was most recently in India on the Ganges this past March. I visited Bangladesh last January to work on a documentary titled 'River Blue'. I like riverine country like Bangladesh.
SR: Thanks for your time.
MA: Thanks. Convey my greetings to all Bangladeshi fellows who are marking World Rivers Day, 2014.
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