Climate change: Country can turn challenges into opportunities
Implementation of policies, however, is very slow as hurdles in the way are gigantic
Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Being primarily an arid and semi-arid country, Pakistan is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and is among the ranks of countries vulnerable to climate change.
Consequently, food security has emerged as a real challenge under the existing scenario of climate-triggered disasters including drought. As around 70% of the land area is arid and semi-arid, Pakistan is already facing an acute shortage of water for major crops of Rabi and Kharif sowing seasons. The situation is further complicated by increased water demand from the industrial and domestic sectors.
Water pollution is another problem which takes away the available water as a result of dumping of untreated effluents and sewage into fresh water. Population growth is a critical factor responsible for increased food demand in Pakistan, but the available arable land is shrinking due to urbanisation and industrialisation.
A weak capacity and a lack of innovation in agriculture technology at farm and post-harvest stages also pose food security challenges of feeding over 200 million people of the country on a sustainable basis.
Primarily depending on rainfall, most of the agricultural activities in Pakistan including livestock and dairy are subsistence farming as commercial farming is mostly limited to irrigated land in the plains of Punjab. The small and subsistence farming community is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change as a little drought or delayed rainfall may lead to very low production.
Another visible impact of climate change on agriculture is the shift in cropping patterns due to more warm and dry periods, thereby changing the crop and vegetation life cycle. Therefore, such climate-triggered low agricultural production may lead to increased incidence of poverty and malnutrition. Water harvesting and other water conservation techniques are essentially required as a means of adaptation to the changed climatic conditions.
In addition to that, the development of much-needed improved seed varieties having resistance to drought is still a wishful thinking as the level of research and technology is very poor in the country.
Pakistan has inherited useful indigenous technical knowledge well suited for adaptation to climate change. The Karez system of water harvesting in the arid zone of Balochistan, the Rodkohi system in western and southern Punjab, water ponds in most of rural Pakistan, especially the Potohar region, community canals and water channels alongside river systems are some of the centuries-old indigenously developed and practiced systems suited for adaptation to low water situations.
Crop rotation, keeping fallow land and use of organic farmyard manure are other field practices that not only ensure water conservation, but also reduce water consumption in crops.
Crop selection for various ecological zones also plays an important role in adaptation to climate change under water-stress conditions. The quest for modern technology, irrespective of the socio-economic situation of small farms, such as mechanised farming, use of chemical fertiliser, pesticides, heavy irrigation and other such water-consuming farming systems even at the subsistence level, has completely abrogated low-cost sustainable farming on a small scale.
Policy implementation
To effectively address the climate change issues, Pakistan has made adequate institutional arrangements and established the Ministry of Climate Change besides developing the National Climate Change Policy in 2012 along with a framework for its implementation.
A food security policy developed in 2017 is also in place with a very strong thrust on climate smart agriculture. However, the pace of implementation of these policies is very slow as the challenges to effectively implement them are gigantic.
The most important part of the implementation is coordination with provinces as major subjects related to effective implementation like environment, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry fall within the domain of provinces after devolution under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
In addition to this, a lack of adequate capacity at federal and provincial levels, effective resource mobilisation and stakeholders’ ownership are some of the hardcore issues delaying implementation of the national climate change policy. Involvement of private sector and civil society in the process is another major challenge.
For effective coordination among stakeholders, both political and administrative commitment at the highest federal and provincial levels is essential. The framework for implementation of the national climate change policy provides for a high-level steering committee under the chairpersonship of the prime minister with chief ministers of all provinces as members, but so far the legal framework for such an arrangement is not in place.
The establishment of the National Climate Authority is also being proposed as a strong institutional arm dedicated to climate change, but the pace of its establishment is very slow. Once in place, these institutional arrangements will greatly help Pakistan address climate change issues on a sustainable basis.
Apart from the institutional development, the capacity building of professionals in this area has to be ensured on an urgent basis.
Climate change is a challenge as well as an opportunity for increased resource mobilisation for a country like Pakistan, which is already listed among the highly vulnerable countries. This can greatly help in opening windows of opportunities for funding from global sources such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund as well as National Actions for Mitigation and Adaptation.
Pakistan has already secured a full-scale GCF grant for the Glacial Lake Outburst and Floods (GLOF) project being implemented by the UNDP Pakistan. Other windows of funding can also be exploited through the public sector, private sector and civil society interventions.
Dedicated efforts can help Pakistan secure more funding from the available global facilities as well as national development programmes in relevant sectors such as water resources, food security and research initiatives.
The investment being done by the Planning Commission through the annual development portfolio can greatly help in reporting Pakistan’s investments in climate smart development for national and international compliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change already ratified by Pakistan to earn mileage at national and international levels.
Resource mobilisation and public-private partnership involving also the civil society will greatly help Pakistan ensure food security through climate-friendly and smart agricultural practices. Apart from these, awareness and community mobilisation can prove highly useful and important for a successful food security strategy.
The writer is a PhD in natural resources management and is a civil servant
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2019.
Being primarily an arid and semi-arid country, Pakistan is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and is among the ranks of countries vulnerable to climate change.
Consequently, food security has emerged as a real challenge under the existing scenario of climate-triggered disasters including drought. As around 70% of the land area is arid and semi-arid, Pakistan is already facing an acute shortage of water for major crops of Rabi and Kharif sowing seasons. The situation is further complicated by increased water demand from the industrial and domestic sectors.
Water pollution is another problem which takes away the available water as a result of dumping of untreated effluents and sewage into fresh water. Population growth is a critical factor responsible for increased food demand in Pakistan, but the available arable land is shrinking due to urbanisation and industrialisation.
A weak capacity and a lack of innovation in agriculture technology at farm and post-harvest stages also pose food security challenges of feeding over 200 million people of the country on a sustainable basis.
Primarily depending on rainfall, most of the agricultural activities in Pakistan including livestock and dairy are subsistence farming as commercial farming is mostly limited to irrigated land in the plains of Punjab. The small and subsistence farming community is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change as a little drought or delayed rainfall may lead to very low production.
Another visible impact of climate change on agriculture is the shift in cropping patterns due to more warm and dry periods, thereby changing the crop and vegetation life cycle. Therefore, such climate-triggered low agricultural production may lead to increased incidence of poverty and malnutrition. Water harvesting and other water conservation techniques are essentially required as a means of adaptation to the changed climatic conditions.
In addition to that, the development of much-needed improved seed varieties having resistance to drought is still a wishful thinking as the level of research and technology is very poor in the country.
Pakistan has inherited useful indigenous technical knowledge well suited for adaptation to climate change. The Karez system of water harvesting in the arid zone of Balochistan, the Rodkohi system in western and southern Punjab, water ponds in most of rural Pakistan, especially the Potohar region, community canals and water channels alongside river systems are some of the centuries-old indigenously developed and practiced systems suited for adaptation to low water situations.
Crop rotation, keeping fallow land and use of organic farmyard manure are other field practices that not only ensure water conservation, but also reduce water consumption in crops.
Crop selection for various ecological zones also plays an important role in adaptation to climate change under water-stress conditions. The quest for modern technology, irrespective of the socio-economic situation of small farms, such as mechanised farming, use of chemical fertiliser, pesticides, heavy irrigation and other such water-consuming farming systems even at the subsistence level, has completely abrogated low-cost sustainable farming on a small scale.
Policy implementation
To effectively address the climate change issues, Pakistan has made adequate institutional arrangements and established the Ministry of Climate Change besides developing the National Climate Change Policy in 2012 along with a framework for its implementation.
A food security policy developed in 2017 is also in place with a very strong thrust on climate smart agriculture. However, the pace of implementation of these policies is very slow as the challenges to effectively implement them are gigantic.
The most important part of the implementation is coordination with provinces as major subjects related to effective implementation like environment, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry fall within the domain of provinces after devolution under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
In addition to this, a lack of adequate capacity at federal and provincial levels, effective resource mobilisation and stakeholders’ ownership are some of the hardcore issues delaying implementation of the national climate change policy. Involvement of private sector and civil society in the process is another major challenge.
For effective coordination among stakeholders, both political and administrative commitment at the highest federal and provincial levels is essential. The framework for implementation of the national climate change policy provides for a high-level steering committee under the chairpersonship of the prime minister with chief ministers of all provinces as members, but so far the legal framework for such an arrangement is not in place.
The establishment of the National Climate Authority is also being proposed as a strong institutional arm dedicated to climate change, but the pace of its establishment is very slow. Once in place, these institutional arrangements will greatly help Pakistan address climate change issues on a sustainable basis.
Apart from the institutional development, the capacity building of professionals in this area has to be ensured on an urgent basis.
Climate change is a challenge as well as an opportunity for increased resource mobilisation for a country like Pakistan, which is already listed among the highly vulnerable countries. This can greatly help in opening windows of opportunities for funding from global sources such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund as well as National Actions for Mitigation and Adaptation.
Pakistan has already secured a full-scale GCF grant for the Glacial Lake Outburst and Floods (GLOF) project being implemented by the UNDP Pakistan. Other windows of funding can also be exploited through the public sector, private sector and civil society interventions.
Dedicated efforts can help Pakistan secure more funding from the available global facilities as well as national development programmes in relevant sectors such as water resources, food security and research initiatives.
The investment being done by the Planning Commission through the annual development portfolio can greatly help in reporting Pakistan’s investments in climate smart development for national and international compliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change already ratified by Pakistan to earn mileage at national and international levels.
Resource mobilisation and public-private partnership involving also the civil society will greatly help Pakistan ensure food security through climate-friendly and smart agricultural practices. Apart from these, awareness and community mobilisation can prove highly useful and important for a successful food security strategy.
The writer is a PhD in natural resources management and is a civil servant
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2019.