Awareness workshop: 'Rise of water in Indus River may displace communities'

THATTA:

Leading development professionals, policy makers and community representatives gathered in Thatta to attend the first workshop for 'Climate Resilient Communities in Coastal Lying Areas of Sindh' project organised by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service Pakistan (AKPBSP), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

The interventions planned as part of the project are designed to create awareness about the impact of climate change on the lives of the local people living in the coastal areas of the country and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to cope with disasters related to climate change.

"Studies by the WWF-Pakistan and National Institute of Oceanography show that sea water intrusion in the past 30 years has encroached over one kilometre of inland," said Sindh AKPBSP programme manager Saleema Salim while briefing the participants of the event about the challenges the coastal areas face. "Studies predict an eventual rise of upto 6.5 feet, naturally displacing local communities." 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2014.