Climate change impact : Country can turn into Mohen-Jo-Daro’

CPNE secretary general urges media to sensitise people, govt on the issue

The whole country could become Mohen-Jo-Daro if corrective measures were not taken to mitigate the climate change impact, CPNE Secretary General Jabbar Khattak said on Monday.

Mohen-jo-Daro, the famous pre-historic town in Sindh was devastated by drought.

He was speaking at Media Education Seminar organised by Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) in collaboration with UNDP in Peshawar on Monday.

The seminar held under media engagement climate change mitigation and adaptation project was addressed by the experienced ecologists, experts and specialists who were of the opinion that Pakistan was passing through serious climate warming situation and if, they warned, effective strategy was not evolved in time there would be havoc in Pakistan.



He stressed the need for highlighting climate change as a public issue and a wider governance issue and said media should portray a clear picture of the economic impacts of climate change and the players and processes involved in climate finance and climate budgeting.

He expressed fears that if those at the helms of affairs fail to pay heed to climate change impact, God forbid, the country would become Mohen-jo-Daro.

CPNE Director Programmes Abdul Rahim Moosvi explained the salient features of global warming and termed it as serious in Pakistan. He said that Sindh was particularly vulnerable to climate change impact and as such was threatened with serious situation.

Glipomete Stuart Hodes in his speech highlighted the role of media and civic responsibility to pave the way of averting the alarming situation of climate change and asked the people to inquire as to why the issue of climate change and economic governance were interlinked.

He said that big businesses making intelligent decision to seize green opportunities were in the run for long-term growth and those who do not, would pay the price for not being climate friendly.



Hodes asked the media to play its role by hunting news stories on climate change and sensitise the civil society and the government to take effective steps towards this end.

He said that media should inculcate spirit among the young generation to participate in the climate change efforts.

Senior climate change specialist Ghulam Akbar said that in the past cities along Sindh coastline and also near Karachi had drowned owing to sea incursion.

He praised Khyber-Pakhtun­khwa government for its efforts against climate change and global warming. Akbar said that Balochistan was hit by drought and the people were migrating to Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2019.