Changes in rainfall, unpredictable variations in monsoon and potential melting of glaciers will affect water supply in the Indus. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan needs a better institutional framework to address its vulnerability to climate change, speakers said at a seminar on Monday.
The seminar, “Climate Change Repercussions for Pakistan,” was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in connection with an assessment report recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Speakers said Pakistan was a “major victim” of climate change even though it does not significantly world greenhouse gas emissions. They said water availability, food security and human healthcare most likely to be negatively affected by climate change effects such as erratic weather patterns, changing rainfall trends and extreme weather events including floods.
But the biggest issue was that the country lacks the institutional capacity to deal with these challenges.
“The institutional framework to combat climate change is weak, fragmented and ill-resourced,” said Shafqat Kakakhel, chairperson of SDPI’s board of governors and former deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme. “We urgently need an office at the federal level to deal with climate change issues, which has tentacles in the provinces and federal ministries in cross-cutting areas such as water, agriculture and health,” Kakakhel said. “The existing climate change division requires drastic restructuring.” Speakers said transferring civil servants from one department to another would not work as technical experts are required for the climate change division.
Earlier, Climate and Development Knowledge Network’s Asia Programme Deputy Director Dr Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry and Dr Mohsin Iqbal briefed participants about an assessment report by Working Group I of the IPCC, a United Nations body. Chaudhry said the IPCC report stated that human activities led to an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and consequently global warming.
Iqbal, head of the Agriculture and Coordination section at the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), said if the greenhouse gas emissions are not checked, rise in global temperature would lead to more extreme weather events.
Changes in precipitation levels, potential melting of glaciers in Pakistan which have so far shown stability and unpredictable variations in the monsoon will affect the supply of water in the Indus, experts said. Consequently, crop yields and capacity for hydropower projects will be reduced.
Speakers said Pakistan could try to access global funds available for climate change adaptation and mitigation, but first the country needed a “robust institutional framework.” They said studies about the impact of climate change are available in the form of the National Climate Change Policy and work by non-governmental organisations. But a policy document is as good as its implementation, they said, and Pakistan has done miserably on the implementation front.
Iqbal told The Express Tribune that the GCISC’s research is shared with the Climate Change division and policymakers but its impact remains to be seen in terms of concrete steps taken by the government.
“Slowly and steadily, a global movement is developing to tackle climate change and Pakistan must prepare itself to become a part of the process,” Kakakhel said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2013.
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**What news editors never tell you; the scientific consensus was a meaningless 30 year old "maybe" consensus of nothing! It was BEER reviewed not peer reviewed.
The issue is; do the vast majority of the world’s scientists all agree with a consensus that a crisis could happen? The answer is yes; they have NEVER said or agreed on anything beyond "could be" and have never said or agreed that this deadly threat to the planet that condemns our children is; "eventual" or "inevitable" or "unavoidable" or WILL happen. Find us one single IPCC warning that says anything more that "could be".
The ultimate crisis needs the ultimate proof and science could end this costly battle to "save the planet" if they just agreed it WILL happen because 30 more years of "maybe" dooms their children as well as ours. Climate blame was a tragic exaggeration and real planet lovers welcome the good news, the rest of you remaining believers just hate humanity itself. Did Bush fear monger billions of helpless children?
Get up to date: Occupywallstreet now does not even mention CO2 in its list of demands because of the bank-funded and corporate run carbon trading stock markets ruled by politicians.re like "BEER" reviewed. At least stop threatening our children with a crisis only you say will happen because science has not. Deny that.**
The population commission of Pakistan has recently revealded the fact that the present population of Pakistan is more than five times than it was in the year 1947 . Islam discourages family planning norms and allows to keep five wives at a time . In the given circumstances what ever assisstance will be given on the name of forest and biodiversity conservation will be of no use . About ten thousand cows and millions of other animals are to be mass merdered to feed such huge population on the name of a religious obligation and national pride . Thus the given money is just a waste .