Climate change: Time to step up efforts against global warming

Speakers dub natural disasters, deforestation and combustion as some of the root causes.


Sehrish Wasif June 24, 2011

ISLAMABAD:


Over the last ten years, Pakistan faced ten big natural disasters, which cost a loss of $14.21 billion. And potentially risking 50 per cent population, said Ministry of Environment Director General Javed Ali Khan. He was addressing the participants of a seminar titled, ‘Climate Change and Future Development’ organised by Pakistan-Norway Association here on Thursday.


Khan said the damage cost of these disasters is going up with the top three disasters occurring in the past three years, amounting to a total of $11.55 billion.

“Climate Change is a direct threat to security of food, energy and water and it is a serious challenge for the country,” he said.

These threats owe to the rapid melting of Hindukush-Himalayan glaciers, increased variability of monsoon and risk of floods and droughts, upstream intrusion of sea water into Indus delta due to Sea Level Rise, reduced productivity in crops and fertility of livestock due to heat-stress. Moreover, they are also responsible for causing health risks such as heat strokes, malaria and other waterborne diseases.

Khan further said that Pakistan is not yet a power player in the carbon market. Speaking on the occasion Prof. Iftikharunnisa Hassan, from Karakoram International University , Gilgit said the negative impact of climate change has become so apparent that there is no need to talk about it. However, the surprise to the common person is the severity of its impact. “The recent floods, the untimely rain schedule and related factors affecting the crop cycle, farming and cattles are fast turning Pakistan from a country known as a bread basket of Asia in to a food-scarce country,” she said.

Hassan criticised the rulers and government machineries for not sharing the information with civil society, even on matters that are directly affecting their lives.

“Ultimately people get caught unaware and no one can help as they are uninformed and ignorant about the disaster management measures. The government machineries are inadequate to meet the situation,” she said.

She further said that women from rural and remote mountain areas serve as a king pin of agriculture and need to be enlightened on what is happening around them and how to tackle the situation head-on. Hassan said it is a misconception that rural women are illiterate. Their wisdom is more advanced than their male counterparts and what is missing is continuous up-gradation of their knowledge and skills.

Trust For Voluntary Organisation Deputy CEO Farooq Khan, while sharing a case study with the participants, said it is too unfortunate that the village Kali Delli, just a  two-hour drive away from Islamabad is deprived of electricity and access to portable water. People there are using kerosene oil to light the lamps, which costs around Rs800 per household. Moreover, the carbon dioxide produced in the process is  hazardous to health.

One can find heaps of firewood in their houses, being collected by women, which is contributing to deforestation and risking their livelihoods.

“It is though just one example but Pakistan is facing huge shortage of energy which no doubt would double in near future,” he added.

United Nations Development Fund for Women Country Programme Director Alice Harding said Pakistan is a negligible contributor to the global carbon emission that is contributing 0.4 per cent to the total and yet the fifth on the climate change vulnerability index.

She termed the National Climate Change Policy of Pakistan as ‘Gender Blind’, as it does not address the threat posed by the climate change in the country’s socio-economic security.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2011.

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