Sindh Climate Policy in vetting stage: Rahoo

The provincial government had finalized the Sindh Climate Change Policy, which was being vetted by the law department and then the provincial Cabinet would approve it soon, Sindh Minster for Environment Ismail Rahoo said on Tuesday.

He was talking to a delegation of environmental activists and civil society led The Knowledge Forum Director Zeenia Shaukat and others at his office. Senior journalist Tahir Hassan Khan, Nagham Iqtidar and Shujauddin Qureshi of the TKF were also present.

Rahoo said due to the geographic position of the tail-end of the Indus River, Sindh was suffering water shortage. An awareness campaign had been launched to educate people about changes in weather patterns due to climate change, he said.

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The minister said water flow in the Indus River had declined over the years due to climate change. Its flow has further reduced downstream Sukkur barrage as due to wide bed of the river in the middle of Sindh's areas, the river water is wasted and evaporated and when it reaches Kotri barrage, its flow is negligible, he further informed. Downstream Kotri Barrage districts, especially Indus Delta areas, suffer dryness for most of the year.

The United Nations team had recently visited the Indus Delta areas and informed the provincial government that the international body plans to initiate a project to save the Indus Delta area, Rahoo said. He said Sindh Climate Change Policy had been devised after thorough consultations with all the stakeholders including industries, civil society and climate change activists.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2022.